Megafaun initially stumbled through the gnarled thickets of
the bearded troubadour circuit when they were identified as the
majority of DeYarmond Edison. That seldom heard—but much
lauded—rock outfit eventually gave the gift that is Justin Vernon
(known to you, and to Grey’s Anatomy fans, as Bon Iver).
Vernon’s former bandmates (longtime friends, they moved from the
Midwest to Megafaun’s present North Carolina stomping ground years
back) were dragged into the light as pop enthusiasts tried to piece
together Vernon’s past. Yet while he was secluded in a hunting cabin
writing the best whispered break-up jams this side of Either/Or,
Megafaun was hard at work leaving an equally impressive mark on the
folk music landscape.
Any band of Avett Brothers can prop themselves atop the Americana
heap and be dubbed its glorious saviors, but the music of Megafaun
contorts an endless array of traditional musical forms—the
aforementioned Americana, dustbowl country, bluegrass, indie pop
experimentalism—into one seamless entity of limitless potential.
Gather, Form & Fly, their latest for the local Hometapes
label, is a magnificent contribution to the outsider folk canon.
Composed of Joe Westerlund and brothers Phil and Brad Cook, Megafaun
work collectively to create pristine moments of traditional folk
harmonies buoyed by the deep tapestry of dusty Appalachian front porch
finger-picking.
“Each of us has our own approach to listening, writing, and
arranging,” says Phil Cook. “We try to give each other space to grow,
while simultaneously working hard to agree on the overall arrangement
of the statement. Naturally, there are times when an argument is in
order, but we’ve known each other for basically our whole lives and
have gladly chosen to spend a majority of our time together.”
Megafaun’s unique flexibility in reinterpreting a historic genre and
capturing it all on tape is evident on tracks like the Teenage Fanclub
harmonies of “Guns,” the instrumental dirge of the title track, and the
compelling “Darkest Hour.” Opening with nearly two minutes of bird
chirps, hazy drum circle percussion, and a downpour of water, “Darkest
Hour” finally begins when the trio’s a cappella voices appear, only to
fade into an Animal Collective-esque mass of droning noise and
miscellaneous sounds. Yet before the song drifts from your memory
entirely—it initially gives the impression of being easily the
album’s most disposable track—it suddenly evolves into a
bombastic shanty sing-along, an unforgettable moment haphazardly
crammed into the final 40 seconds of music.
Never resting their laurels within the comfort and predictability of
the folk genre, Gather, Form & Fly was assembled in a very
unorthodox manner. This included recording sessions in nearly every
form of domicile known to man—including the serenity of an empty
yoga studio—and a trip to a local college campus for an alleged
breaking-and-entering reconnaissance mission to record on a properly
tuned piano.
“We were definitely discreet about it,” explains Phil Cook. “Three
large unkempt bearded men walking into a prestigious college with arms
full of recording equipment would raise some obvious red flags to just
about anyone, I’d think. We used a friend’s card to swipe in, found a
quiet classroom in the basement of the music building, and hung coats
over the window. We worked in the dark.”