You may have heard of them if:
- You watch David Letterman and Conan O’Brien. (They performed “Ready, Able” on Letterman and “While You Wait for the Others” on Conan.)
- You, for some reason, still watched Gilmore Girls during its season finale. (Some character mentions them in passing.)
- You are looking forward to The Twilight Saga: New Moon soundtrack. (They contributed the song “Slow Life” to the much anticipated soundtrack.)
- You went to the Pitchfork Music Festival this summer. (They played right before The Flaming Lips on the adjacent stage.)
- You follow @edwarddroste on Twitter.
You may like them if you like: Radiohead, Bon Iver, Department of Eagles, Pink Floyd (the Syd Barrett era), Beach Boys (or just really awesome harmonies), Jay-Z’s opinion
The foursome that comprises Grizzly Bear don’t really come across as the masterminds behind one of indie rock’s greatest albums of year, much less the decade. Christopher Bear, Chris Taylor, Daniel Rossen and Ed Droste, the timidly charming frontman, would fit in more at a low-key bar in Brooklyn than on The Tonight Show or The Late Show with David Letterman, and yet once they start to play, they deliver a performance worthy of Madison Square Garden. Even Jay-Z, hip-hop’s reigning king, thinks the quirky quartet is not only an “incredible band” but is an inspiration along with the rest of the indie movement.
In 2006, Grizzly Bear released Yellow House, a grittier and more experimental album than their latest release, but a masterpiece regardless. The guitars cut in “Knife,” while the dissonant chords of “On a Neck, on a Spit” alienate because “out here no one can hear me.” It feels more reserved and intimate and you can almost picture the eponymous house as the album plays.
Listening to Veckatimest however is quite the departure. It’s like going on a musical journey where vocals, drums, guitars and even omnichords blend together perfectly and create another dimension of sound. The deliberate precision that courses through every beat and chord is like a drug that travels through your entire body from the moment the sound waves hit your eardrums.
It begins powerfully with the all-consuming “Southern Point,” which starts with an almost jazzy atmosphere, quickly crescendos and explodes into a symphony of sound. The album suddenly shifts to “Two Weeks,” where the clinking piano contrasts with Droste’s despondent description of his “routine malaise.” It’s a song of juxtaposition and contradictions that encapsulates the painstaking amount of effort it takes to make a bad relationship work.
The only flaw in this otherwise perfect album would have to be song six of 12. “Dory” is odd and is usually skipped on my iTunes. It’s as if the album takes an intermission from greatness to try out something that doesn’t quite fit — not like it really matters, anyway. They come right back with “Ready, Able,” an audiophile’s dream at the right bit rate if I ever heard one. The song swims through Droste’s inner confessional as he hopes he is “ready, able to make my own” and proclaims “I want you to know that what I did, I did.”
“While You Wait for the Others” (with another even more bizarre video to accompany it) travels through the depths of hopelessness as “we all fall through” in an epic power ballad that ends with a beautifully sobering conclusion. The music fades, and all that is left is the quartet’s graceful harmony and the final tracks.
In its entirety, Veckatimest sounds like this vast landscape of perfectly intertwined sounds. Grizzly Bear has a talent for making every note resonate on its own so that when it all comes together it seems so much grander than any single element actually is. It’s like the band members themselves. Each unassuming in his own right, but when they take the stage and it’s about the music, they become a dynamic force, surpassing any and all expectations.
That’s the beauty behind this band and this meticulously polished album. It’s all about the music. They’re not seeking stardom. They don’t want to be rock stars. They want to make great music and if that’s the goal, something as superb as Veckatimest is the result.