Volcano Choir is an assembly of Wisconsinites Jon Mueller, Chris Rosenau, Jim Schoenecker, Daniel Spack, Justin Vernon, and Thomas Wincek. You might find these old friends also frequenting records and stages under different monikers, such as Collections of Colonies of Bees and Bon Iver. This particular incarnation of their work together predates the meteoric rise of Justin Vernon's Bon Iver project, with original songwriting dating back to the summer of 2005, right around the time the Bees first toured with Vernon's previous band, DeYarmond Edison.

While entirely a studio record, the collection doesn't suffer from the overburdens of a digital pile-up. Rather, it breathes and convulses in equal measure, radiating an inherent dynamism found only in the voluntary bondage of intimacy. With influences ranging from David Sylvian and Steve Reich to Mahalia Jackson and Tom Waits, it might be more accurate to say the group's influence is music itself. With the vibe of some intimate backwoods gospel, plus a spirit of patience and thoughtful repetition, the music of Vlcano Choir is as dynamic as it is lovely.

Unmap marks the debut full-length from Volcano Choir.