Megafaun, Heretofore

review by dave heaton

Look at the song titles for Megafaun’s new EP. That there are both down-home-sounding ones like “Carolina Days” and the more academic-sounding “Comprovisation for Connor Pass” is indicative of the band’s dual identity, how well they play rustic music with old-folk roots and how adapt they are at experimenting, at pursuing the ideas of modern-classical composers and indie post-rock singers alike. The more these two worlds merge, the more exciting Megafaun is.

Merge they do on Heretofore, which starts with a melodic pop-y tune with a smooth sound of overlapping guitars, before taking a detour in the middle, into fooling around with bursts of noise. Taken by itself, “Carolina Days”, with its talk of “gypsy girls and redwood trees”, would give the impression of the band as alt-country purveyors, a looser Southern version of Son Volt, say. The front-porch-sitting, banjo-playing sound of “Volunteers” is similar, with more geographic details and a bittersweet tone, with the open question, “tell me now girl / do I stay or do I leave?”

The seven-minute “Eagle” warps that outdoors folk thing somewhat, asking similar questions in a stranger tune that lopes along at a stroll, allowing them to make crazier sounds within it, plus sing out like a drunk chorus and jam like there’s a free-jazz wind blowing. The electricity of “Eagle” is different than, but similar to, “Comprovisation for Connor Pass”, the longest song on the EP. That length makes it feel like Heretofore’s heart or center.

The closing “Bonnie’s Song” is more compact and folk-song-like but retains much of the air of mystery and atmospheric, even exploratory playing. When it falls to a close, it keeps the sad feeling and the buzz about our ears.

{www.home-tapes.com}