When you buy a box of Jelly Bellys in assorted flavors, you better
be prepared for a variety of tastes. Sure, you’ll get watermelon and
lime, but you’re also going to taste an occasional popcorn-flavored
bean. It’s the same thing with Veckatimest, Grizzly Bear’s third
album, a mish-mosh of dramatic mood swings, with each song leaving a
new and different taste in your mouth. “Southern Point” hurtles forward
with dramatic, string-driven crescendos; “All We Ask” haunts with
ghost-like harmonies; and “I Live With You” bursts into a violent,
tragic fit that wouldn’t sound out of place in a horror movie. Grizzly
Bear, one of the indie-rock’s biggest buzz bands, pay impeccable
attention to detail. The songs on Veckatimest build on 2006’s
Yellow House, adding a fourth dimension with layered vocals,
dreamlike ambient guitar and swelling choruses. “Two Weeks” finds the
quartet at its best: Frontman Ed Droste’s voice floats over bright,
sparkling piano like a honey-sweet Jens Lekman, while the rest of the
band adds “whoa-woah” harmonies. — Danielle Sills
This article appears in Jun 3-9, 2009.
