Collections of Colonies of Bees is the band behind VOLCANO CHOIR, their collaboration with vocalist JUSTIN VERNON of BON IVER.

GIVING is Collections of Colonies of Bees’ anticipated new album, three years since the crtically-acclaimed Birds LP/CD was released on Table of the Elements. LP pressed in MULTICOLOR VINYL \”Collections Of Colonies Of Bees has a deeper bench than anyone probably realized,\” wrote The Onion\’s A.V. Club in April, listing Volcano Choir, All Tiny Creatures, and Jon Mueller among the names that have ascended from the Wisconsin-based band\’s thirteen-year history. Ignited by Chris Rosenau and Mueller in 1998 (and coexisting alongside their band Pele until 2004), Collections of Colonies of Bees has the power and scope to illuminate the bloom of indie rock history.

Their discography spans Polyvinyl and Table of the Elements. They live a double life as Volcano Choir, their lineup intact along with the addition of Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) as vocalist. They\’ve been called Rock, Post-Rock, Art Rock, Electronic, Instrumental, and Experimental. In between all those lines, and with the volume turned way way up, is the true de-nition of Collections of Colonies of Bees. Now they\’re joining Hometapes, longtime friends and home to dynamic bands like Bear In Heaven and Megafaun, with a new album, GIVING , to be released this summer. The pulse is set less than a minute into GIVING , Collections of Colonies of Bees ¬rst album in three years. There\’s no foreplay, no smalltalk just endless altitude. Their sixth full-length, the bona ¬de descendent of Customer and Birds (and even Volcano Choir\’s Unmap), is a 4-song, 28-minute eruption: Lawn, Vorm, Lawns, Vorms. It\’s the crashing waves of Rosenau\’s guitar, the pelting rain of Mueller\’s percussion, the vaporous breaths of Thomas Wincek\’s piano, and the rhythmic fabric woven by Jim Schoenecker (electronics), Daniel Spack (guitar), and Matthew Skemp (bass). It\’s Collections of Colonies of Bees as themselves — the rigor, the emotion, the groove.

For a band that\’s been described as \”Rhys Chatham and Arnold Dreyblatt meet pop\”, GIVING is a record that begs to re-introduce Collections of Colonies of Bees as architects of avant-rock and to count them among the likes of Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, and Battles. GIVING will be released on CD and LP, the agship vinyl format pressed in multicolor vinyl and packged in a jacket featuring interior printing, a full color insert, download card, and the raw porcelain sculpture work of Portland artist Cameron Stewart.