Like the cover art and title suggest, this record is wilfully lost in the forest. Recorded in the remote woods of Wisconsin it sounds as if it were sung from a snow covered wilderness with no other human ear around just the hydrogen, oxygen and argon of the air… and the occasional moose or bear. Unmap is a collaboration between Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon and fellow Wisconsinites Collections of Colonies of Bees. Their work together pre-dates the release and ensuing success of Bon Iver’s ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’ in 2008, however, it doesn’t have a lot of memorable songs like ‘For Emma…’ It is more a flow of abstract moods and sensations. Vernon’s falsetto vocals weave through and guide ‘Seeplymouth’ along until pounding drums take over and build it up into a plateau of somehow gentle noise, held with precision just short of oblivion. ‘Husks and Shells’ breathes free and clear over a buried life support blip with haunting gospel vocals that pop up like a lurking backwoods cave-dwelling sect singing from the depths of a mystical trance. Volcano Choir are carrying no map but they know where the principle landmarks are, as others have explored the region before. It is a little lacking in drama but its space and feeling lead it calmly through the forest, back to the heart. - Dom