Megafaun (MySpace) was originally birthed from the remnants of DeYarmond Edison and released Bury The Square in 2007. Gather, Form & Fly is the follow-up to that widely-hailed album, and it warrants all the hype one can give. The band consists of Joe Westerlund and brothers Phil and Brad Cook. The main Edison absentee is Justin Vernon, who now goes by Bon Iver. Despite Iver’s greatness, there’s a lot to be said about these three — the music they create, in my opinion, is just as great as For Emma and Blood Bank.

The songs Megafaun creates are fit for country porches, from ancient farmhouse decks to the back-woods hideaways. You can visualize songs like “The Fade” and “The Process” jammed by men in their thirties with thick beards and plaid shirts; the violin and fun, tambourine-heavy percussion certainly helps. This is hefty folk, stuff that you’d imagine was commonplace more than a century ago in the taverns of rustic towns, and its presence today is a downright blessing.

Megafaun: The Fade [mp3]

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Hometapes [CD, 2009]

1. Bella Marie
2. Kaufman’s Ballad
3. The Fade
4. Impressions Of The Past
5. Worried Mind
6. The Process
7. Solid Ground
8. Darkest Hour
9. Gather, Form & Fly
10. Columns
11. The Longest Day
12. Guns
13. Tides