Megafaun

North Carolina’s Megafaun joins rising indie artists like its former DeYarmond Edison bandmate Justin Vernon (a.k.a. Bon Iver) in exploring Americana’s abstract edges. Both the group’s debut, Bury The Square, and 2009’s Gather, Form & Fly are challenging journeys, as disembodied squeaks and rattling percussion seep through certifiable floorboard-stompers rooted in snappy banjo and guitar plucking. The band’s 2011 self-titled record pushes the group’s weirdness to the background, instead choosing to highlight some more classical rock sounds. Album openers “Real Slow” and “These Words” channel the Grateful Dead, albeit a slower, somehow trippier version of the legendary jammers, and “Second Friend” straight reeks of ’70s AM Gold, à la Bread and America.

Updated 03/27/2012