Grizzly Bear break the confines of art-gallery rock with their new LP Shields, released September 18 on Warp Records. The Brooklyn quartet brings a Baroque flair to cutting edge rhythms on their sublimely complex fourth studio album. It is their first release since 2009’s hit Veckatimest, and, joyfully, the band brings the same pop sensibility as before, but with more maturity. Ecstatic melodies blend with musical intelligence on their single “Yet Again.” This track in particular, brooding and uplifting, is as powerful as they come.
The experimental tendencies on this record are along the lines of Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but with no trace of Jeff Tweedy’s fragility or distance. Instead, Grizzly Bear relies on heavy and exhilarating rhythm parts such as on the opening track “Sleeping Ute.” With Shields, Grizzly Bear has surpassed any of their previous work, and set an ambitious standard for future releases.
“Yet Again” by Grizzly Bear, from their latest release Shields
By Issac Scott
