Home-recorded songs can feel incomplete whilst being as tantalizingly indicative as the sketches before a painting. The outlines, though interesting in their own respect, are not as satisfying as the finished version. Grizzly Bear, however, have approached song writing as a craft to master from their very first album, Horn of Plenty onwards. Enamored by how a song "reads", they were fully present from prologue to denouement even though singer/songwriter Edward Droste recorded them by himself in his Brooklyn bedroom. Fuelled by a bout of post-relationship inspiration, those first songs celebrated the creative liberation of the ProTools era. They explored the depths of break-ups through crystal-clear tones, field sounds and woozy, complex harmonies.
Droste has now gathered a band: Christopher Bear (name entirely coincidental) played drums and helped polish Horn of Plenty in its final stages; Chris Taylor soon followed the duo post HOP release and was responsible for electronics, woodwinds, bass, and vocals; Daniel Rossen sang, played guitar and contributed new songs. The line-up was complete, and as a newly established four piece, they began musical exploration. The music was sweet, and the instrumentation and live show grew in ambition. The songs were remixed by figureheads at the forefront of the electronic music scene: Efterklang, Dntel and Soft Pink Truth.
The new material that comprises Yellow House puts the band at the vanguard of contemporary song writing. The album was self-recorded during an idyllic summer. The makeshift studio was provided by Droste's mom's living room in a yellow house just off Cape Cod.
Magical, haunting melodies are still their mainstay. Grizzly Bear always craft their songs from start to finish – meticulous instrumentation and arrangements are their specialty. On Yellow House, Grizzly Bear still flex their lo-fi connoisseurship, but with a better recording – DIY embellished with Taylor's fine sonic engineering acumen. Droste and Rossen share initial song writing duties, although the entire band collaborates to breath life into the tracks.
Grizzly Bear do not skimp. They're remarkable not just for their attention to detail but for their concern for how a song FEELS: flush with heart and melancholy, their music is seductive and intimate, deep with hazy-eyed choruses, whistles, piano and banjo. They know melody and ambiance are necessary complements. This is experimental mood music with love for classics and standards. It's the kind of stuff you yearn to crank up when you're lying in bed on a Sunday.
About a year ago the band began the recording process for Veckatimest, which would unfold over six months time in three very singular locations. And in many ways, it is the recording process that reveals this record—each space catalyzing different interactions, inspirations, and ultimately, songs.
In July, the band spent three weeks at the Glen Tonche house in upstate New York. The beauty, mystery and surrealistic feel to the estate made anything seem do-able, possible and even magical. Though still finding their feet, much of the album's groundwork was laid there. After breaking briefly for the Radiohead tour in August, the band convened at a house on Cape Cod (graciously provided by Droste's grandmother) where they re-addressed and solidified the compositions they'd started at Glen Tonche. Lastly, Grizzly Bear came home, to a church in NYC, to fine-tune and complete the album—named Veckatimest, after a tiny, uninhabited island on Cape Cod that the band visited and was inspired by, particularly liking its Native American name. Following initial mixes by Chris Taylor, the band brought Gareth Jones (Interpol, Liars) over from England for a final mixing session with Taylor. The album was then mastered by Greg Calbi. Artist William O'Brien created Veckatimest's colorful, hand drawn artwork—a perfect compliment to the album's enigmatic title.
There is an unbelievable clarity of sound and vision to Veckatimest: vocals (a duty now shared by all band members) are sharper and more complex, arrangements are tighter, production is more venturous and lyrics more affecting. Having opened the creative dialogue at such an early stage, Grizzly Bear was able to realize these 12 songs together as a band, making it their most collaboratively compositional album to date. Taylor's artistry as a producer and engineer has only gotten stronger, both Rossen and Droste's conviction as singers and lyricists has swelled, and Bear's authority behind the drums is striking.
This yielded an unexpected mix of material that feels more confidant, mature, focused—and most of all, dynamic. From songs like "Dory" (a gracefully psychedelic, ever-evolving work),"Ready, Able" (a synth-y opus, and one of four songs that boasts string arrangements by composer Nico Muhly) and "Foreground" (a plaintive, vocal-driven send-off, and one of two songs to feature choral arrangements also by Muhly) to more resounding pop songs like "Two Weeks" (an other-worldly doo wop featuring backing vocals from Beach House's Victoria LeGrand) and "While You Wait For the Others" (a triumphant and melodically cacophonous pop masterpiece), Veckatimest is an album of the highest highs and lowest lows—an unbelievably diverse collection of songs that celebrates the strength of each band member, and the power of the whole. It was well worth the wait.
Discography:
Veckatimest (2009)
Friend EP (2007)
Yellow House (2006)
Horn of Plenty (2005)
Sites:
Song Samples:
Cheerleader
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