Having Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead giving you the title of being his favorite band is a pretty big deal. Having Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead asking you to open for the second leg of their North American tour is a pretty damn big deal.
If this happened to me I think I would have shat my pants, died, and went to heaven. Preferably in that order. Luckily for Grizzly Bear, the four Brooklyn-resided musicians kept their cool – and their pants clean – and began to live up to their newfound title.
Now, at first I was wary about Grizzly Bear. I had only listened to their 2006 album, Yellow House a few times – I could tell that they had talent and were strong musicians, but YAWN was it boring to listen to straightforward. It wasn’t until I watched a clip of a Take Away Show off La Blogotheque, where Grizzly Bear was roaming the streets of France – most likely a little buzzed – performing an a capella version of their song “Knife” that I saw the band’s true brilliance. These four men were artists – vocal extraordinaries! Each member of the band has the voice of a fucking cherub—even the drummer. Yellow House just wasn’t living up to Grizzly Bear’s greater potentials.
A year later their Friend EP was released, featuring a handful of new tracks, as well was some edited and cover version off songs from the previous album. Again, a well thought out EP, but nothing awe-inspiring. However, the track “He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss),” a cover of The Crystals’ 1962 controversial pop song stuck out like a sore thumb. Here was an already beautifully crafted song that was transformed and intensified into an even more beautiful crafted song that kept its simple and harmonic purities. It would make Phil Spector shed a tear from his prison cell.
With their recent release, Veckatimest, the band hits the nail on the head. Here are twelve incredibly constructed tracks filled with lustrous harmonies paired with simple and soft melodies that truly define Grizzly Bear as the band they strive to be.
Check out “Two Weeks” and “While You Wait for the Others” below:
Overall, Grizzly Bear has become my latest music obsession. I’m no Jonny Greenwood but I can definitely say that they’ve become my favorite band at the moment as well.
Plus, singer Ed Droste is totally in the top ten hottest Jew noses category – talk about giving someone a grizzly bear hug…
