| Product Summary | | Label: WARP RECORDS/REDEYE | | UPC: 00801061018221 | | Release Date: 5/26/2009 | | Buy.com Sku: 211031422 | | Item#: M4MMNM | | Buy.com Sales Rank: 26531 | Format:  CD |
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| Song Listing |  |
Disc 1
| | Song Title | Sample | | 1. Southern Point ~ Grizzly Bear |  | | 2. Two Weeks - (featuring Victoria Legrand) ~ Grizzly Bear | | | 3. All We Ask ~ Grizzly Bear | | | 4. Fine For Now ~ Grizzly Bear | | | 5. Cheerleader ~ Grizzly Bear | | | 6. Dory ~ Grizzly Bear | | | 7. Ready, Able ~ Grizzly Bear | | | 8. About Face ~ Grizzly Bear | | | 9. Hold Still ~ Grizzly Bear | | | 10. While You Wait For the Others ~ Grizzly Bear | | | 11. I Live With You ~ Grizzly Bear | | | 12. Foreground ~ Grizzly Bear | |
| | 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. Chris Taylor's artistry as a producer and engineer has only gotten stronger, both Daniel Rossen and Ed 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.
| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | Audio Mixers: Gareth Jones ; Gareth Hughes Jones. | | One of the most highly anticipated indie-rock releases of 2009, VECKATIMEST finds Grizzly Bear continuing its nearly exponential leaps in creativity and scope from album to album. While the Brooklyn act's second full-length outing, YELLOW HOUSE, garnered considerable acclaim and solidified the quartet's moody and experimental, yet always tuneful, sound, this remarkable record soars confidently to loftier heights, as best evinced on the urgent folk-tinged opener, "Southern Point," and the gorgeous "Two Weeks," which floats along on stunning vocal harmonies and shimmering electronic flourishes. Like its contemporaries Animal Collective and Deerhunter, Grizzly Bear impressively transcends hipster hype to produce songs that grow more intriguing with time, and, with VECKATIMEST, it may have just crafted its own PET SOUNDS. |
Producer: Chris Taylor |
Engineer: Chris Taylor; Gareth Jones |
Musical Guests | | Victoria Legrand |
| | Compilation Appearances |
| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 05/26/2009 | | Original Release Date : 2009 | | Catalog ID : 0182 | | Label : Warp | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 00801061018221 |
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| | Professional Reviews | | Rolling Stone (p.73)
- 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[This album] has a sound that is completely its own: an opulent, intimate rumble built on churning acoustic riffs, haunted croons and precise string parts."Spin (p.86)
- "Steeped in Wilco's bittersweet Americana, and adding a Northeastern Gothic twinge, Grizzly Bear sound like they're trying to break your heart." Entertainment Weekly (p.64)
- "The swirling gypsy dazzle of 'Southern Point' and 'Two Weeks,' with its lush Beach Boy melodies and jaunty piano jangle, are genuinely intoxicating." -- Grade: B CMJ - "The main clincher of this album is that it scoops you up and sweeps right through you....Gentle harmonies conjure swirls of pinks and tangerines, the vocals of band members are sinewy and lithe..." Billboard (p.56)
- "Even with the generally lo-fi nature of Grizzly Bear's repertoire, the band manages to throw in a couple of rocking guitar riffs in tracks like 'Fine for Now' and 'While You Wait for the Others.'" Q (Magazine)
(p.126)
- 4 stars out of 5 -- "These former music students have constructed an album full of intricate songs that subtly changes with each listen....It's a beautiful piece of work." Pitchfork (Website)
- "[C]arefully embellished, stripped bare when applicable, full of the joy of sounds colliding with other sounds....Only four guys so completely serious about music-making could come together to make an album this labor-intensive sound so airy, so natural." Record Collector (magazine)
(p.100)
- 4 stars out of 5 -- "Sporting production arrangements that sound simultaneously stripped and complex, this is the Bear's best album to date." |
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| | Bio | | | Grizzly Bear Grizzly Bear released Yellow House in 2006. It was a slow, steady and stunning ride -- boundless in scope and elegance. 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 of this seems very reasonable. They've been busy. But about a year ago, singer/songwriter Ed Droste, drummer Christopher Bear, bassist Chris Taylor and singer/songwriter/guitarist Daniel Rossen -- whose 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, blessed with producer/engineer Chris Taylor's willingness to transport his recording equipment, they began 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 2008, 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.
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