Justin Vernon (of Bon Iver) isn't generally a guy who will leave his fingerprints all over the musical landscape, as he tends to release music in a slow trickle rather than flood of tracks you'll get from someone like John Darnielle. But this year Vernon seems to be everywhere. He has reissueed albums by Amateur Love and Sarah Siskind on his imprint, produced the Blind Boys of Alabama, put out a new album from his blues-rock band The Shouting Matches, appeared on the new Kanye West, and now he's releasing a new LP with Volcano Choir. (Maybe we can get some new Gayngs this winter?)
Volcano Choir, the project of Vernon and the Milwaukee-based post-rock quintet Collections of Colonies of Bees, will be releasing Repave, their second album, on September 3. The album is different animal altogether than their lush, atmospheric, post-rock meets pop debut Unmap (2009). The post-rock tendencies remain, but in service of more clearly laid vocals and more well-defined song structures. It's a beautiful, sparse album with moments of intimate minimalism and joyous explosions.
You can listed to Repave now via NPR Music.