Veckatimest

by

Grizzly Bear

Edit

More and more often music is referenced by other bands- "oh, it sounds like so and so" or "so and so is the new blahblah". Grizzly Bear manages to sidestep these identifiers creating it's own music without falling into the pit of preconceived notions genres create. When I first started telling people about Grizzly Bear i'd find myself at a loss for words when asked to describe what it sounded like. Expansive, harmonic, folkish (we won't use the term "Freak Folk" here), rockish, but always elusively avoiding falling into one definitive sound, which is the strength of this album as well as the previous one. Ideally, bands will evolve and not keep putting out different versions of the same album year after year, and Veckatimest successfully takes the next step. While their first widely known album Yellow house was soaring and symphonic, Veckatimest manages to ground itself in earthier sounds. There's a richness to the layers and layers of harmony, the syncopation of the rhythms and the contrast of frontman Ed Droste's expansively melodic voice to Daniel Rossen's sharper timbre.

I admit it took several listenings to really begin to appreciate the sensitivity of the music on Veck. I was attached to the rich softness of Yellow house, the ease with which one could sink into the cradle of sound. Veckatimest is harder, a bit more masculine, but still possessing the uniqueness of their previous work. Funnily, I noticed this most when I would put my ipod on shuffle, and all of a sudden i'd find myself drawn into a song, and have to check to see who it was since I hadn't yet memorized all the songs on the album. Inevitably, it was Veckatimest.

This album is not a complete departure from their previous work, but rather a continuation, and therefore a worthwhile investment. It's rare that you find music that incorporates so many different elements into one beautiful package.

Ok, admittedly not a music or art critic in any way, I would like to voice my opinion of this album. eh...

I bought Yellow House out of a suggestion from a friend. This turned out to be a very good idea and I have been hooked since.

I swooned and drooled over their performance of "Two Weeks" on Letterman a year or so back, which now seems like forever. I eventually forgot that an album was coming and survived off of a ripped live version of the track that then circulated many a playlist/ burned cd from then on.

Well here we are now with Veckatimest.I must say I am pretty unimpressed. The songs are atmospheric and many of them are very listenable deep tracks, with progressions, changes in pace, different movements. This stuff is deep and layered. The sounds drift and fade, then crash and climax, and venture off again in many directions.

The songs themselves are generally good and, given the right mood, enjoyable. My problem with this album is the album itself, as a whole. It just doesn't ever seem to fit together to me. In a sea of moodiness and recluse, the pop-oriented, upbeat "two weeks" seems out of place, forced sort of. The rest of the songs also never seem to give way to the next or nod at the last, which isn't necessarily a requirement but does make a difference in a coherent album.

The songs have a way of fading into the background leaving you to your thoughts while it ventures off into some deep cerebral meanderings, only to suddenly become engaging with rock and pop sensiblities and you're left confused. Is this supposed to be beautiful, ambient, background music suitable for conversations and company? At times it seems like it, then, without warning, it becomes a work that demands your full attention. In my opinion this was a very distracting feeling.

The songs individually work, and I will continue to listen to them, I'm sure, hence the three stars. I don't think, however that I can heft it upon my (huge)list of favorites because of the fact that the work doesn't seem to be a cohesive thing, instead many other things thrown together.

Again, this is my opinion and I sincerely hope it helps someone. Shipping was amazing, had the product within a few days in great condition.

-Stephen