Sabrina Miresse | December, 2019

A secret Justin Vernon masterpiece. I say secret, because not a lot of people know about his creative projects aside from Bon Iver. Volcano Choir is what happens when Justin Vernon and Collections of Colonies of Bees come together to make music, and it rocks.

“Repave” released in 2013 and I likely first heard it around 2015 during high school, when my love for Justin Vernon really started to peak. “Repave” is one of two Volcano Choir albums made before the band decided to go their separate ways. The album cover was actually what caught my eye because of the large, dark waves flowing on the front that continued when you opened the vinyl – but the waves continued in fine lines being drawn in wavelike motions. After falling in love with the first track, “Tiderays,” and listening to it over and over, I soon began to pick apart the meaning behind Vernon’s lyrics – per usual. I felt like this album was talking about paving over the bad times and moving on and I loved hearing that message through oceanic metaphors. The album speaks to the lows in life and how you have to eventually learn to ‘repave,’ and this became yet another Justin Vernon album that got me through my decade.