Product Description

Grizzly Bear released Yellow House in 2006. It was a slow, steady and stunning ride, and given the album s otherworldly charm and staying power, it s hard to believe three years have gone by.

That might seem like a long time. But given Grizzly Bear s hectic touring schedule, including stints with Radiohead, TV On The Radio and Feist as well as several performances during a five-night tribute to Paul Simon at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, a co-headlining show with the L.A. Philharmonic, and the release of Friend, a 10-song EP of re-recorded and re-worked songs, collaborations and covers all this seems reasonable. They ve been busy.

But about a year ago, singer/songwriter Ed Droste, drummer Christopher Bear, woodwinds player/bassist Chris Taylor and singer/songwriter/guitarist Daniel Rossen who s other band, Department of Eagles, released the sublime In Ear Park last fall began passing demos around, and working together creatively in different pairs and permutations. A few months later they set off with producer/engineer Chris Taylor s mobile recording rig to begin the recording process for Veckatimest, which would unfold over the next six months 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. 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. 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 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.
This yielded an unexpected mix of material that feels more confident, 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.

Track Listing

1. Southern Point
2. Two Weeks
3. All We Ask
4. Fine For Now
5. Cheerleader
6. Dory
7. Ready, Able
8. About Face
9. Hold Still
10. While You Wait For The Others
11. I Live With You
12. Foreground

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #161 in Music
• Brand: Dig
• Released on: 2009-05-26
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .16 pounds

Customer Reviews

All I listen to
As a listener of all music (and I really mean ALL) this contemporary album takes me everywhere I want to go, yet never sounds like any of its references. "Southern Point" is at times sentimental and nostalgic post-psychedelic rock, but slaps you in the face with something like you've never heard the second you get comfortable. Grizzly Bear gives its nods to the defining moments of 20th century pop with arching vocals and a tad of doo-wop (that they do so well) in singles "Two Weeks" and "Cheerleader." But as a music lover who is always interested in the less-conventional side of things, Grizzly Bear does that too--coming out of nowhere with songs like "Fine For Now" and "I Live With You" (perhaps my favorite of all). You're left asking yourself "What year is it? And what planet am I on?"

One of the best albums of the decade
I would compare this album to Radiohead's In Rainbows in that its a towering example of a band at the top of its creative ability gelling together to create one cohesive vision. Whats amazing to me is that this is only Grizzly Bear's 2nd full-on album.

To me, this record has that intangible 'it' quality that you cant put your finger on what makes it so appealing, but its what keeps pulling you back listen after listen.

Describing the sound on this album is a bit difficult, but I would call it a rustic, ethreal, pop-folk. But I believe that the enjoyment comes not from whatever genre you want to call it, but at appreciating the meticulous song craft that creates what is, for me, the most memorable album in years.

Sorry Animal Collective, I love you guys and your new album is great, but you just got beat out for album of the year. Highest Recommendation.

Accoustic guitar Radiohead but with all the bleeps and beeps
If you are a Radiohead fan, this will be an easy band and CD to fall in love with. Thick haunting atmosphere, lots of bleeps and beeps, intense melodies, beautiful vocals and mystery-vailed lyrics (notably more optimistic than Radiohead's). A bit darker than the band's previous CD "The Yellow House." At first listen the CD seems far tooo slow and thick to get through. But I've grown to love it eventually and still listen to it a lot several months after purchasing.
Southern Point - quick and very U2-inspired
Two Weeks - gorgeous harmonies
Fine for now - could have been a tune for a Broadway production of Henrik Ibsen or another thick philosopher
Cheerleader - the most accessible track and the gateway song for a newcomer to the band
Dory - yup, it's about the Dory from Nemo and fittingly slow
Ready, Able - one of my absolute favorite Grizzly tracks ever. Doesn't end the way one might think it will, great lyrics and a brilliant hook.
Foreground - Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous, dark, brooding and introspective. Bears resemblance to Radiohead's Videotape.