All Tiny Creatures - Harbors

As I casually listened to some new music this fine Friday morning, I stumbled upon an album with spectacular artwork:

As soon as I hit play I started to feel this familiarity wash over me.  I had heard this before - yet I hadn't.  I began to have this conversation in my head: "Do I like this?" "I think I just might."  But why, why did I like it.  Of all the albums I've recently acquired, this was the one I felt most comfortable approving of.

So I started to do some research.  Why did I like this music?  It's been a topic I've been obsessed with for weeks.  Not, why is this music good?  But, why do I like it?  The internet told me why - one of the singers on this album is... wait for it...  Bon Iver frontman, Justin Vernon.  Big surprise.  All Tiny Creatures is a band from Madison, WI, (basically the same band that made Volcano Choir, Unmap), featuring probably one of my favorite singers.

So duh.  I felt a little stupid for not knowing about this album before I heard it.  Something most music conscious listeners would probably commiserate with.  As music people we're supposed to know when good stuff is coming out - especially from bands we know and like.  

And maybe that's a misnomer.  How should I know before hand that I'm going to like something?  When good people are involved, should they make good music?  We've seen this theory disproved many times.  Great musicians sometimes make horrible music.  Mistakes are made - risks are taken.  Outside forces control certain aspects at times that take away from the musical process.

In today's Digital Media, Internet Distribution ecosystem, musicians can create music fast and send it out even faster.  This can certainly reduce those outside influences (as the record industry is almost non-existant in internet distribution), but it can also encourage musical risk, which unchecked, can be a bad thing.  If a musician cannot edit themselves effectively, they need a great producer there to take up that responsibility.

This all being said, I had a big revelation today.  Not only was I unaware of All Tiny Creatures, but I ended up going back and listening to Unmap.  It sounds great - more so that I remember before (honestly, I hadn't really listened to it much).  But why do I think it's good now?  Because I know Bon Iver is in it?  Yeah, maybe.  Dumb.