June 8th, 2009 | New York
Grizzly bears might be scary and dangerous, but the Brooklyn version of this wild beast is anything but. Instead of roars, the quartet of music nerds specializes in acoustic and experimental indie music, and new album Veckatimest proves their wider appeal.
Pop was not exactly Grizzly Bear's motto on its first two albums, but Veckatimest's lead single "Two Weeks" definitely has the sort harmonizing vocals and piano melodies that will make people pay attention. After this initial dose of popular tones, the four-piece digs a more esoteric hole. It's not an unpleasant journey; Grizzly Bear manages to keep our attention with intense and beautifully layered songs with epic qualities, such as "Fine For Now" and "Southern Point."
This is one of those über-talented groups where everyone can sing and play all the instruments. The result is pure art rock: loved by some, misunderstood by most. And to makes thing even more confusing, the band members look more like the fashionistas of Vampire Weekend, than the teenage choirboys they sometimes sound like.
Grizzly Bear is signed to the legendary Warp label, British pioneers within electronic music, and that has probably furthered the group's drive to discover new and weird music genres—Veckatimest, for example, is categorised as chamber pop.
Veckatimest is out now, more info at www.myspace.com/grizzlybear.
—David Hellqvist
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