Grizzly Bear
Shields
(2012)
why you'll love it: Grizzly Bear continues to refine their rich and natural sound
why you'll hate it: Basically a sequel to their last album with diminishing returns
why you'll love it: Grizzly Bear continues to refine their rich and natural sound
why you'll hate it: Basically a sequel to their last album with diminishing returns
It's the last hour of the last day of the week; so I'm still in time! It's been a busy short week for me at work before having to travel for Thanksgiving, so I haven't had much time to talk about what I've been listening to the past seven days - The lastest from a very popular modern indie act: Grizzly Bear. Their 2006 breakout LP, Yellow House turned a lot of heads with very rich acoustics and a down to earth sound. They're right up there with Animal Collective as one of those bands that are put on a pedestal these days, but their respective sounds couldn't be further apart. Where Animal Collective is transmitting from space, Grizzly Bear is more like in a log cabin.
Veckatimest (2009) shaped Grizzly Bear into a modern radio-friendly song structure, and Shields seems to be little more than polishing that idea. That's not entirely a bad thing (unless you really loved the denseness of Yellow House). The production is still a marvel. I love the echoey guitar and drums, the subtle application of electronics and distortion, and the choir-like vocals of the band. "Sleeping Ute" and "Yet Again" are fantastic songs, no matter which way you cut it. "The Hunt" (dull) and "Sun in Your Eyes" (annoying in its efforts to sound epic), are.. well... not. I'm afraid songs like "What's Wrong" and "Half Gate" would be better if by now the Grizzly Bear formula wasn't so predictable.
Shields starts off very strong, but the album doesn't seem to have the same soul or lasting power Veckatimest had; nor the attention-grabbing appeal of Yellow House. Also, nine songs (+ an instrumental segue) that sound just like your last album, sort of leaves a "huh... this took three years?" impression. It's very soothing and well performed album, but just doesn't live up to their reputation.
It's the last hour of the last day of the week; so I'm still in time! It's been a busy short week for me at work before having to travel for Thanksgiving, so I haven't had much time to talk about what I've been listening to the past seven days - The lastest from a very popular modern indie act: Grizzly Bear. Their 2006 breakout LP, Yellow House turned a lot of heads with very rich acoustics and a down to earth sound. They're right up there with Animal Collective as one of those bands that are put on a pedestal these days, but their respective sounds couldn't be further apart. Where Animal Collective is transmitting from space, Grizzly Bear is more like in a log cabin.
Veckatimest (2009) shaped Grizzly Bear into a modern radio-friendly song structure, and Shields seems to be little more than polishing that idea. That's not entirely a bad thing (unless you really loved the denseness of Yellow House). The production is still a marvel. I love the echoey guitar and drums, the subtle application of electronics and distortion, and the choir-like vocals of the band. "Sleeping Ute" and "Yet Again" are fantastic songs, no matter which way you cut it. "The Hunt" (dull) and "Sun in Your Eyes" (annoying in its efforts to sound epic), are.. well... not. I'm afraid songs like "What's Wrong" and "Half Gate" would be better if by now the Grizzly Bear formula wasn't so predictable.
Shields starts off very strong, but the album doesn't seem to have the same soul or lasting power Veckatimest had; nor the attention-grabbing appeal of Yellow House. Also, nine songs (+ an instrumental segue) that sound just like your last album, sort of leaves a "huh... this took three years?" impression. It's very soothing and well performed album, but just doesn't live up to their reputation.
Veckatimest (2009) shaped Grizzly Bear into a modern radio-friendly song structure, and Shields seems to be little more than polishing that idea. That's not entirely a bad thing (unless you really loved the denseness of Yellow House). The production is still a marvel. I love the echoey guitar and drums, the subtle application of electronics and distortion, and the choir-like vocals of the band. "Sleeping Ute" and "Yet Again" are fantastic songs, no matter which way you cut it. "The Hunt" (dull) and "Sun in Your Eyes" (annoying in its efforts to sound epic), are.. well... not. I'm afraid songs like "What's Wrong" and "Half Gate" would be better if by now the Grizzly Bear formula wasn't so predictable.
Shields starts off very strong, but the album doesn't seem to have the same soul or lasting power Veckatimest had; nor the attention-grabbing appeal of Yellow House. Also, nine songs (+ an instrumental segue) that sound just like your last album, sort of leaves a "huh... this took three years?" impression. It's very soothing and well performed album, but just doesn't live up to their reputation.
