Posted on 6/21/2009
Grizzly Bear
Veckatimest
[Warp]
Everyone seems to love Grizzly Bear (as evidenced by their sold out show at the Cedar Cultural Center in early June) but no one seems to be able to pinpoint why. In addition to the usual hipsters who worship any note of music that comes out of Brooklyn, your die-hard stoner rock or hip hop fan friends are probably all fawning over Veckatimest, the Brooklyn band's third full-length record - but chances are, your parents are digging it too.
Veckatimest (named after an island off the coast Massachusetts, frontman Ed Droste's home state) is Grizzly Bear's most accessible record to date. But the key to its success is that the record is accessible without being too accessible. There's no lowest common denominator here, and Veckatimest is never boring or predictable. The songs are challenging enough to remain interesting, but have enough hooks to draw in even the most mainstream music listeners. "Southern Point" starts the album off with soaring melodies, stilted guitar and heartbreaking harmonies (a trademark Grizzly Bear combination) and launches into the more lighthearted "Two Weeks," which is almost impossible not to sing along to. The vocals, which have always been the real star of any Grizzly Bear record, are pretty without being overly sweet. Veckatimest rides the line perfectly between upbeat pop songs ("Two Weeks," "About Face") and darker, more experimental compositions ("Ready, Able," "Dory"). There's enough of each style, and everything in between, to simultaneously please everyone. It's as if the band took a page out of The Book of Radiohead (a band Grizzly Bear opened for a couple years ago) - pre-egomania, of course.
The experimental nature of the band's first recordings is still there, but is minimal when compared to older songs, or to singer/guitarist Daniel Rossen's side project, Department of Eagles. Composer Nico Muhly, who has arranged for Philip Glass, Bonnie "Prince" Billy and Antony and the Johnsons leaves a distinctive mark, but doesn't really interfere with what Grizzly Bear is trying to do. And what exactly are they trying to do? Nobody really knows, but whatever it is, it's good.
Stream: Grizzly Bear - Cheerleader
Written by Dana Raidt, Radio K volunteer.