Milwaukee's Daily Magazine Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009
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  • adamRmorris:
    Giving the Volcano Choir album a test drive. (Wisconsin's Bon Iver/Justin Vernon + Collections of Colonies of Bees.)

  • music_expert:
    One of the finest artists to emerge in the Noughties, Justin Vernon's Bon Iver delivered an album full of genius gems. link

  • osttos:
    este es el side project de justin vernon (bon iver) y la vaina no tiene sentido lo arrecha que es link

  • leahkoshiyama:
    'Volcano Choir,' a side-project by Bon Iver's front-man Justin Vernon, is a sheer delight!

  • aebeverley:
    @TomCook24 EXCITE! (downloading justin vernon pre-bon iver!!)


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New stuff from Bon Iver and friends
The Volcano Choir released "Unmap" on Sept. 22.  
By Julie Lawrence RSS Feed Twitter Feed
OnMilwaukee.com Staff Writer
Photography by Cameron Wittig
E-mail author | Author bio
More articles by Julie Lawrence

What is a blog?  For us it is a short blurb that we write when the mood strikes us.  It can be first person, funny or informative. In short, a blog is whatever we want it to be. Published Sept. 23, 2009 at 9:20 a.m.
Tags: bon iver, collections of colonies of bees, volcano choir, 88nine radio milwaukee

It's always something of a mystery to me when my alarm clock ends up on a different station than the one I have consistently set it to for years and years. (Does this happen to anyone else?)

Anyway, this morning was one such instance, and it's always a bit of a shock when the new single from The Raveonettes rouses me from my sweet slumber rather than Bob Bach. But, intrigued, I listened for a while rather than slapping snooze.

My dial, it turned out, was on 88NINE Radio Milwaukee and morning host Jordan Lee was in the middle of his "New Music Wednesdays" set. Up next, he said, was something fresh from a collaboration between Bon Iver and Milwaukee's Collections of Colonies of Bees, known as Volcano Choir. The band's debut, "Unmap," was released yesterday on Jagjaguwar.

Simply put, the music was great (sorry, I did not catch the name of the track Jordan played), and although it's mildly annoying to immediately compare, my initial reaction was that Justin Vernon's voiced sounded not dissimilar to Coldplay's Chris Martin's when paired up with CoCoBees obscure sounds and complex layers. It sounded rich and full, almost cosmic -- it was a stark contrast to his very intimate, very raw debut, "For Emma, Forever Ago."

But apparently, this stuff was recorded well before his 2007 breakthrough and Jordan told us that Vernon has credited it as what gave him the gusto to get "For Emma" offthe ground.

Check it out here.

Bon Iver plays The Riverside Theater on Oct. 11.

2 comments about this article.
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Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by HmongkeyHmongsta on Sept. 25, 2009 at 11:59 a.m. (report)

Bon Iver as desolate and raw as he is, still sounds too influenced by his peers and winds up being the last sad indie folk singer in a long line that formed over a decade ago. The description of the Volcano Choir has peaked my interest, it sounds like it might not be as folksy or as depressing which would be refreshing. Listening to ONLY tormented dudes with big beards can really do a number on you...same with gangster rap or auto tuner music though.

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Posted by mrman on Sept. 23, 2009 at 1:37 p.m. (report)

I heard that song on the way into work, but found it the complete opposite of the author. It was background music at best with little that I found compelling. The hype of these guys is not backed up by the final product.

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