Megafaun

To assign the music on Megafaun a genre would be a futile; the band has long been hailed for its diverse musical conversations, but this record creates a unique language all its own. The album's 14 tracks range from raw, unhurried rock & roll to cacophonous percussive blasts, from brassy instrumental free jazz to mournful delta blues. The band—Joe Westerlund and brothers Phillip and Bradley Cook—recorded the album late last year at April Base in Fall Creek, Wisconsin, the studio of former bandmate Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), and produced it themselves along with BJ Burton.

The album opens with Real Slow, a bold and emotional statement about the group and its roots. From there the record unfolds in a million directions, moving beyond the back porches of Americana into wholly new and uncanny sonic territory, where gorgeous, earthy melodies blossom into unsettling time signatures and swirling electronic soundscapes.