Veckatimest

Grizzly Bear | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 26, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warp Records
• ASIN: B001U7FWM8
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (78 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,077 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #18 in Music > Miscellaneous > Experimental Music

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Grizzly Bear’s third album is a modern masterpiece of chamber-pop music, comprised of lush, smooth songs that beautifully evoke the New England seaside where it was recorded. On the sublime “Cheerleader,” drums patter and guitars gently reverberate as frontman Ed Droste muses, “Maybe this time we’ll grow.” That much is true--as spectacular as was the group’s previous effort, Yellow House, the songs of Veckatimest flow together much more exquisitely, a gulf stream of intricate arrangements and lyrical harmonies. While the terrific singles have justifiably received much attention--“Two Weeks” begins with a plinking piano intro before dropping into the sweetly swooning melody; the guitar and vocals of “While You Wait for the Others” start and stutter before launching into the dazzling chorus--it’s the slow-burning songs like “All We Ask” and “Ready, Able,” shimmering with madrigal-esque vocal rounds, that lend the record a certain eminence. The album ends on such an august note; “Foreground" is one of the best closing tracks in recent memory. As the piano quietly cantillates, Droste sings, “Something about this might / Take all evening.” It’s a song of twilight, a farewell bid to the burst of summer and light that is Veckatimest.  --Erin K. Thompson

Product Description

2009 reissue UK 2-CD album set - Following a sensational year in 2008, which saw the band supporting Radiohead and Paul Simon in the US, Grizzly Bear returned with a breathtaking album, blending lush orchestral flourishes and a strong sense of melodic pop hooks with captivating and often immediate indie folk. This 2-disc edition comprises the 12-track CD album featuring the singles 'Two Weeks' & 'While You Wait For The Others'; plus a Bonus CD containing seven breathtaking live tracks recorded for various sessions around the world, including 'Two Weeks' and 'While You Wait For The Others' recorded in the BBC's Maida Vale studios for Radio 1. Presented in deluxe packaging complete with a 24-page photo booklet. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars evolutionary, August 13, 2009

By 

boop (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Veckatimest (Audio CD)

More and more often music is referenced by other bands- "oh, it sounds like so and so" or "so and so is the new blahblah". Grizzly Bear manages to sidestep these identifiers creating it's own music without falling into the pit of preconceived notions genres create. When I first started telling people about Grizzly Bear i'd find myself at a loss for words when asked to describe what it sounded like. Expansive, harmonic, folkish (we won't use the term "Freak Folk" here), rockish, but always elusively avoiding falling into one definitive sound, which is the strength of this album as well as the previous one. Ideally, bands will evolve and not keep putting out different versions of the same album year after year, and Veckatimest successfully takes the next step. While their first widely known album Yellow house was soaring and symphonic, Veckatimest manages to ground itself in earthier sounds. There's a richness to the layers and layers of harmony, the syncopation of the rhythms and the contrast of frontman Ed Droste's expansively melodic voice to Daniel Rossen's sharper timbre.
I admit it took several listenings to really begin to appreciate the sensitivity of the music on Veck. I was attached to the rich softness of Yellow house, the ease with which one could sink into the cradle of sound. Veckatimest is harder, a bit more masculine, but still possessing the uniqueness of their previous work. Funnily, I noticed this most when I would put my ipod on shuffle, and all of a sudden i'd find myself drawn into a song, and have to check to see who it was since I hadn't yet memorized all the songs on the album. Inevitably, it was Veckatimest.
This album is not a complete departure from their previous work, but rather a continuation, and therefore a worthwhile investment. It's rare that you find music that incorporates so many different elements into one beautiful package.

51 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best albums of the decade, May 26, 2009

By 

UncertaintyPrinciple - See all my reviews

This review is from: Veckatimest (MP3 Download)

I would compare this album to Radiohead's In Rainbows in that its a towering example of a band at the top of its creative ability gelling together to create one cohesive vision. Whats amazing to me is that this is only Grizzly Bear's 2nd full-on album.

To me, this record has that intangible 'it' quality that you cant put your finger on what makes it so appealing, but its what keeps pulling you back listen after listen.

Describing the sound on this album is a bit difficult, but I would call it a rustic, ethreal, pop-folk. But I believe that the enjoyment comes not from whatever genre you want to call it, but at appreciating the meticulous song craft that creates what is, for me, the most memorable album in years.

Sorry Animal Collective, I love you guys and your new album is great, but you just got beat out for album of the year. Highest Recommendation.

22 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All I listen to, July 25, 2009

By 

Saddleshoos - See all my reviews

This review is from: Veckatimest (Audio CD)

As a listener of all music (and I really mean ALL) this contemporary album takes me everywhere I want to go, yet never sounds like any of its references. "Southern Point" is at times sentimental and nostalgic post-psychedelic rock, but slaps you in the face with something like you've never heard the second you get comfortable. Grizzly Bear gives its nods to the defining moments of 20th century pop with arching vocals and a tad of doo-wop (that they do so well) in singles "Two Weeks" and "Cheerleader." But as a music lover who is always interested in the less-conventional side of things, Grizzly Bear does that too--coming out of nowhere with songs like "Fine For Now" and "I Live With You" (perhaps my favorite of all). You're left asking yourself "What year is it? And what planet am I on?"