the seemingly unstoppable upward trajectory of grizzly bear.
now, i had originally thought of posting this after my working vacation/week-long hiatus/excuse to not sit in front of the computer all of the time was over, but when your friends write posts that inspire you to blog, you have a duty to perform.
i’ve been a fan of grizzly bear, the former-solo-project of brooklynite ed droste, ever since i saw the video for “deep sea diver” on subterranean, MTV2’s not-as-good-as120-minutes-but-we’ll-take-it-anyway indie/alternative video program. i (ahem) downloaded horn of plenty (NOTE: when grizzly bear opened for tv on the radio in 2006, i bought both horn of plenty, and its follow-up, yellow house at the same time), and had my mind blown at the material that droste (with help from the aptly-named chris bear) had recorded. i think i may have written about how i shamelessly ripped off horn of plenty in my own work, but even moreso than that, the textures on this “bedroom-folk” record were as ethereal as anything i’ve ever heard.
then, came yellow house, with two new members (and one of them, daniel rossen, given half the songwriting duties), and it was nearly a complete 180 from the modest, lo-fi intimacy that its predecessor was dressed in. songs like “lullabye” and “on a neck, on a spit” were buoyant, vivacious, technicolor jams that shot rainbows out of your speakers. yellow house then got the best new music nod from pitchfork, which naturally shot them into the indie stratosphere.
with friend, their 2007 EP, they made another switch in sound, giving old favorites such as “alligator” a more muscular treatment, turning “little brother” completely on its head, and giving a quieter, folkier feel to “shift.” but the most song on the release most indicative to their new direction was their cover of the crystals’ “he hit me (and it felt like a kiss).” the song’s arrangement seemed like a natural fit, the dark themes surrounded by classic guitar-pop sound making the song an instant favorite among grizzly bear fans.
in an interview with drowned in sound, droste downplays the “sunnier” vibe that everyone has been talking about when referring to the forthcoming grizzly bear record (which, despite everyone being stoked for it, is not slated for release for another eight months), but it’s pretty apparent that with the two new songs floating around, this whole “60’s girl-group comprised only of dudes” sound that the grizz has been exploring is a natural fit, and a sound that has the collective music-nerd world on the edge of their seats, waiting for the radiohead tour, the new album, and another reason to call grizzly bear one of america’s finest bands.