(Well, not that new, but being as I’m a bit behind the curve on account of my being an Old, I think I’m doing pretty well.)

The last time I saw Bon Iver in concert, my old skateboarding buddy Mark was in the band, and neither he nor Justin Vernon would shut up about how much they loved Collections of Colonies of Bees. So I’m glad that Vernon was able to collaborate with them, and while Bon Iver fans will probably not find it as accessible as that band’s debut, it has grown on me, existing as it does at the perfect intersection of abstract sound collages and more conventional pop forms.

The best example of this is “Island, IS,” which I’ve had on constant rotation the past week or so, and which seems especially appropriate for Minneapolis’ first big Snowmageddon of the season. Because I’m still annoyingly precious about the music I listen to in certain moments, I don’t just throw on anything while inching my car through slushy traffic or holing up in my claustrophobic apartment. Unmap is good winter music, so I’m glad I came a little late to it. Justin Vernon seems incapable of making music that isn’t somehow tinged with the pallor of a long Midwestern winter, but then, his band isn’t called Bon Ete. (A little foreign-language humor for you there.)