Album Review

A lot of people who hung out at coffee shops back in the ‘90s may be offended by my saying it, but I still find it surprising just how often the eclecticism of contemporary indie rock depends on the flat, clean canvas of folk music as a starting point for its explorations in 21st century sounds. After all (sorry, ‘90s goateed poets), folk was a style we could collectively admit to being dead in the water for about three decades before it became so central to this generation’s sound. I’m sure there’s an explanation, but I don’t have one for you. I imagine it could be found somewhere in the repertoire of the masterful freak-folk band Grizzly Bear, whose latest full-length, Veckatimest, is yet another sign that Brooklyn is the official home of whatever is happening that’s good in music.

Already one of the more anticipated albums of 2009, Veckatimest sees Grizzly Bear at their most mature. Combining both the inverted low-fi iconoclasm of 2004’s Horn of Plenty with 2006’s more austere and folkish Yellow House into a more complete sound, Veckatimest is a joy to the ears even as it explores dark, disjointed places many listeners will be surprised to find. This is a band hitting its stride, and the confidence of the group shows on the first track, the psychedelic rave-up “Southern Point,” which starts like a confessional jangle in the style of Jeff Buckley, but suddenly opens to a thrilling, epic level of emotional intensity. The swirl of sugary noise that builds through the bridge is enough to convince any fan that Grizzly Bear has discovered itself. Any remaining doubts will be erased by the album’s second track, “Two Weeks,” a fizzling gem of psychedelic pop that will be emanating from college radio stations by summer. Marrying Ben Folds, a little Beach Boys harmonies, and some good old fuzzy bass-playing, “Two Weeks” is the stand-out single not just for its accessibility, but also its clever and surprising construction. It’s one of those songs the music nerds like as much as the kids sitting up at the bar. It certainly has that sing-along kitschiness we’ve grown to love in our indie rock and VW commercials.

The album slows down after the first two poppy tracks, starting with the ethereal “All We Ask,” probably the most perfect union of classic soul and coffee-breathed folk imaginable. This is followed by “Fine For Now,” which I’m pretty sure was borrowed from David Crosby’s first solo record, and gives the band time to stretch out its composition into a late-night haunt that would make Joe Henry blush. “Cheerleader” brings out a surfy reverb sound that resembles a distant cousin of the Pixies, but builds to a layered treatment that’s all Grizzly Bear’s own. “Dory” is a spine-tingling ballad with a hallucinogenic quality.

Another of the band’s tightly-controlled experiments in noise and song construction, “Ready, Able” is as lilting and downright beautiful a song as you’re going to get these days. This is followed by a pair of very quiet, slow tracks that make room for “While You Wait for the Others,” a more elegiac exploration of the band’s quirky take on gut-wrenching folk. “I Live With You” begins in an idyllic valley of string lines, saxophone, and clear guitar chords, but broadens the group out into a more anarchistic noise that brings the album to its proper climax just before the quiet piano-led track “Foreground.”

All in all, Veckatimest is a record that sees a great band taking another broad step forward. It is a testament to the viability of the indie-eclectic-folk sound forged by Neutral Milk Hotel, and fans of Grizzly Bear will doubtlessly be pleased by this trajectory.

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