Veckatimest

Customer Review:
Grizzly Bear's debut album, "Horn of Plenty," was prototypical freak folk, quite in the vein of contemporaries like Animal Collective, Deerhunter and Yeasayer; with a tinny, lo-fi sound and a rather limited sonic palette, the album was a study in the avant-garde, mixing the rock and folk orthodoxies of yore with the technology of the twenty-first century. They were nonetheless a dynamic, electrifying group, especially galvanizing live, as their rap-rock performance of "Knife" with Girl Talk at the 2007 Pitchfork Music Festival and numerous others equally as fresh and exciting evince. 2006's "Yellow House" found them more focused than ever, having carved out a niche for themselves somewhere in-between Animal Collective experimentalism and Fleet Foxes purism. Here, in 2009, they have, by some considerable distance, produced their most accessible and best album, continuing to refine the sound of "Yellow House" and infusing it with pianos and keyboards and other instrumentation which they had previously shunned. The result is their most focused outing yet, with songs that are instantly stunning but also seem to unfurl over time; with each spin, the listener becomes aware of something new, some small, seemingly insignificant sonic nuance that eluded him at first and somehow manages to shake things up completely.

From the swingy, triumphant opening, "Southern Point," where frontman Ed Droste passionately intones, "You'll never find (But I'll return to you) / You'll never find (When you return to me)," to the spare and cryptic beauty of the closer, "Foreground," the listener is afforded nary a second to rest or take in the better songs in the album. Rather, "Veckatimest," not unlike Animal Collective's "Merriweather Post Pavilion," is meant to be taken in holistically. While on first listen, it all seems like somewhat of a blur, repeated listening attunes one to the smaller scattered details that make the album so cohesive and appealing at first blush. The only songs that are not outright hits are "About Face" and "Fine for Now," but even these, with some repeated listening, will grow on the listener. Nevertheless, tracks like "Cheerleader," the ubiquitous and infectious "Two Weeks," the beautiful, epic detachment of "While You Wait for the Others," the hushed, simmering "I Live With You" and the whimsical "Dory" more than make up for these slight and forgivable missteps. Ultimately, though, "Veckatimest" is nothing more and nothing less than a consummation of all of their initial promise. As such, it is absolutely essential and destined to become a cult classic. Get it now.

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