Hailing from Raleigh-Durham North Carolina, Megafaun are a team of three very talented musicians who used to back one Justin Vernon before he became the breakout hit Bon Iver. Just because these guys used to be Vernon's band doesn't mean they should be undersold or overlooked however. Brothers Bradley and Phillip Cook make up the guitars, banjos and vocals while Joe Westerlund drums and plays all sorts of other instruments. Combined they make one harmonious, yet at times, complex and challenging group that rivals the likes of Bon Iver mixed with the more noisy, experimental side of a Wilco or Akron/Family.

Tracks such as "Kaufman's Ballad" and "The Fade" show the mastery of harmony that the brothers share while other songs such as "Impressions of the Past" and "Columns" show the more adventurous side of this three-piece that you don't usually find in bands that play mostly a Folk/Bluegrass style. Megafaun even try their hand at a swampy Blues style on the excellent "Solid Ground" and get female vocal help from Christy Smith on my favorite track "The Longest Day" which sounds like it could have come off of a Gillian Welch record. Gather, Form & Fly doesn't quite equal the elegance that last years' Bon Iver record gave us, but it certainly does its best to try and does enough for me to highly recommend.