Sunday, May 24, 2009
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
It's nice to hear a band that isn't really trying to sound like something, which is what I get the sense of when I listen to this album. There are a ton of MGMT/Hot Chip wannabes running around and a thousand more Brooklyn indie bands doing their best Vampire Weekend with fast-paced guitar riffs and stripped down production. It's also extremely nice to hear a lead singer with an actual voice, though to be fair all the members of Grizzly Bear contribute to the excellent vocals on this album.
The singing gives a hint of the Smiths (lead singer is a pretty good ringer), the ethereal sounds and experimental instrumentation give you some Interpol mixed with some of the soul and dissonance of the Cure (at least in a few songs). Another nice surprise on this is the songs frequently don't end up where they began, and you often find yourself craning your neck at the end of a tune because it's gone somewhere you didn't expect at all. The album makes an interesting progression and by the end it's practically fully choral, nearly entirely stripped of instrumentation and you just about feel like you're in a church, finishing services.
Veckatimest
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4 comments:
Great album, very brave turn by them. I do wonder how this, Anco, Phoenix, and Passion Pit will stack up on the end of the year lists. I appreciate the effort behind Griz and AnCo more, but can actually listen to Phoenix and PP all the way through. Enjoyment vs. admiration i guess...God I think way too much about music
I actually feel the same way on the enjoyment v. admiration bit. Grizzly Bear and Animal Collective's albums have the pitchfork community creaming their pants, and they are pretty bold and imaginative efforts to be sure, but I can't really do more than a few songs at a time, whereas I can't stop listening to Lisztomania and Manners.
from the moment i read the review in Pitchfork for Vecktimest, i knew this would be a turning point for them. And that it was! remarkable.
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