Grizzly Bear: Veckatimest

Grizzly Bear’s latest offering, Veckatimest, is the next step for all indie rock- the right direction for a genre of music that seems to have been stagnating in depressing acoustic ballads and balladeers for the past few years.

With this album, Grizzly Bear has properly positioned themselves amongst the leaders in this new indie movement- amongst the movers and shakers, not the posers. This Brooklyn based, Banana Republic poster boy style band looks a bit like Vampire Weekend on the outside- but has something entirely different going on on the inside. What stands out about their sound is how well the songs seem to flow with each other. The rhythms are tight and well constructed; the guitars sharp and distinct, and the vocals almost syrupy.

Take, for example, Two Weeks, the second track on the album. With chiming harmonies that would not sound out of place in an Apple ad, GB uses original rhythm styles and spares instrument placement to get this song. They could’ve easily used the same chords to write a boring acoustic song- with one vocal track singing the words that, frankly, I haven’t even taken the time to listen to- as every time I listen to this song, I’m captivated by the rest of the music. But they didn’t. They went a step further- taking this from one guy’s solo effort- to a track that has the touches of every member of the band (all of whom have fantastic voices, by the way).

And maybe that’s just it. That’s exactly what this second coming of indie rock is all about. We’ve heard the Elliot Smiths, and the Garden State soundtracks, and all the sad bastard music that goes with it. (I’m excluding Bon Iver, because I love his sad bastard music- but that’s a topic for a different post.) What we want now, is full band indie rock. Creative, innovative, and tasteful- we want bands that are doing new things, that are stretching the boundaries of music as we know it.

With vocals harmonies as good as anything by CSNY or Fleet Foxes, a psychedelic drone reminiscent of Strawberry Alarm Clock and The Black Angels, and original rhythms unlike anything I’ve heard before- Grizzly Bear has stuck indie rock gold with his new offering. Apparently, Radiohead knew what they were doing when they had these guys open up for them on last summer’s tour. It’s about time the rest of us followed suit and gave these guys the credit they deserve.

Grizzly Bear- Southern Point

Grizzly Bear- Two Weeks

Grizzly Bear- About Face

Buy GB @ Amazon.com