Artist: Megafaun
Album: Gather, Form and Fly
Label: Hometapes
Rating: 4
Formerly of the band DeYarmond Edison (with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon), Megafaun’s incredible sophomore album Gather, Form and Fly features a breathless multi-instrumental soundscape.
The album’s bluesy guitar rock and harmonious vocals are organized around a consistent and penetrable aesthetic that is remarkably beautiful. “Kaufman’s Ballad” is replete with psychedelic banjo riffs and the band trio’s soulfully hypnotic vocals. The entire track is wanderlust and haunting at the same time. “Darkest Hour” leads you into a bizarre ballad of blues that is fully equipped with layering melodies and rhythmic patterns of water drops. It’s weird – yet strangely comforting.
The entire album is comparable to a walk through woodsy landscapes with North Carolina’s thick-bearded folkies. Clearly, Megafaun is a band unafraid of bringing the inventive glory of experimental music into new realms of blues, country and folk.
Give these tracks a listen: “Kaufman’s Ballad” and “Columns”
For fans of: Bon Iver, Akron/Family, The Avett Brothers
– Vanna Le
