Internet darlings since their conception in 2004, Grizzly Bear are that rarest of breeds: an intelligent American guitar band. Beginning life as a home-recording project of front man Ed Droste, the Brooklyn based four-piece’s fourth LP, Shields, is their most accessible yet.
Grizzly Bear have always had their advocates; it comes as no surprise that they’re Jonny Greenwood’s favourite band and are revered by Radiohead aficionados the world over. However, despite a U.S. top ten with third album Vecktameist, they’ve not always been lovable. Knowingly obscure and complicated, there was always a sense that Droste and co. were too intelligent and introspective for their own good.
Punchy opener ‘Sleeping Ute’ seems to instantly dispel any worries that Shields will be inaccessible. A visceral crescendo of jangly guitars, synth and irregular time patterns, it takes the listener by the scruff of the neck and shouts that Shields is not an exploration of musicality for musicality’s sake. ‘Yet Again’ and ‘A Simple Answer’ are the most rousing songs of Grizzly Bear’s career. Both sound like they’ve been lifted from Win Butler’s notebook; raising, uplifting and beautiful, they take the listener where Grizzly Bear have never taken their audience before.
However Shields occasionally slips in to a malaise of meaningless self-appreciation. ‘What’s Wrong’ serves as a poignant microcosm for Grizzly Bear’s career thus far. The jazzy drum beat, drifting strings and vocal harmonies are carefully constructed yet provide little emotional reaction. ‘Gun-Shy’ and ‘Half Gate’ also wander around aimlessly as the album seems to tail off in to the obscure vacuum inhabited by previous Grizzly Bear efforts.
Closing track ‘Sun In Your Eyes’ kicks Shields back in to life. A simplistic piano ballad at one moment, climactic outburst the next; ‘Sun In Your Eyes’ sounds like a song that could fill any arena it damn well pleases.
Shields is an album emblematic of a band growing into themselves. The aesthetics of their earlier work is still apparent, yet this time round, it has more substance, more clarity. With this clarity, Shields has the ability to simultaneously satiate tastes of pretentious music buffs and the average Joe alike.
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By Tom Ritchie
Dance Yrself Clean
