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HOT OFF THE PRESS – Veckatimest by Grizzly Bear

It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s weekly first glance at just-discovered music, whether it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors, Deerhunter, TV on the Radio, M. Ward, and St. Vincent.

to be released May 26 on Warp

Report Card: B+

Here’s a fact: saying anything about Grizzly Bear that falls short of utter and uncompromising praise isn’t a very popular move. That being acknowledged, let’s put aside all the acclaim and rampant fandom for a second and allow this piece of blasphemy to come into focus: no matter how good Veckatimest may be as a whole, it never, ever reaches the impossibly lofty expectations created by its early singles. And how about this: is it possible for an album to be a sweeping, marvelous success in so many ways, yet still, at the end of the day, feel like a disappointment? To that question, Veckatimest says yes.

HOT OFF THE PRESS (#4)

The Walkmen – You & Me
To be released August 19, 2008 on Gigantic.

I won’t lie and say I was just buzzing with excitement over the release of the new Walkmen album. After all, they’ve had a solid little career, with some pleasant peaks and even a good deal of critical acclaim for their 2004 release Bows + Arrows. And they’re taking a generous step towards general angelhood with the pre-release method for their new album, You & Me, which they are offering for a mere five dollars online, with 100% of proceeds going to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. But despite this undeniably excellent and heartfelt deed—not to mention the steady reputation the band has established—it’s always seemed like something’s holding back the New York quintet musically, and, unfortunately, You & Me isn’t about to dispel those notions.

Grizzly Bear: Friend EP

Grizzly Bear
Friend EP
2007 | Warp Records

Since when does an EP consist of TEN songs? Grizzly Bear's latest release, the Friend EP decides that they can throw in as many as they want, especially if the songs are good. For me, Grizzly Bear is the band that sounds like they should have come from the Great White North but do not. They're from Brooklyn.

This EP contains two 'new' songs, and remakes and reworks a handful of older songs. Even though they're trying to make these older songs fresh, there is still that preciousness to them. They are different versions, but they still sound just how I would expect them to sound. The cascading notes and icy feeling reiterates to me that feeling I get of them recording on an arctic tundra somewhere.

One outstanding song they remake on here is "He Hit Me and It Felt Like a Kiss", the 1962 single by the Crystals. I'm a pretty big fan of the original song, however, Grizzly Bear turn the song into an even more haunting melody. It's similar in its stripped down simplicity and the heightened builds of the Crystals, but the uniqueness comes from the vocals. They are incredibly striking and give me chills; really, one should be careful about listening to Grizzly Bear in the dark. There are also two 'deconstructed' songs on here ("Plans", the Terrible vs. Nonhorse Sounds Edit, and "Knife" the Atlas Sound version) that take the reworking of a track off to a far away place with static and random bits of the songs. They actually provide a nice, jarring detour from the rest of the tracks.

As for the other covers from other bands, it's hit or miss. CSS's cover of "Knife" (a song I felt really didn't need any reworking of any kind) sounds pretty much like what you expect to hear from CSS. Electric keys with a less childish sounding Lovefoxxx, but bland. It lacks the power that CSS usually emanate in their music. Band of Horses seems to me an obvious choice to cover a Grizzly Bear song. Both these bands share a vocal similarity where the lead has a voice that echoes and reaches out. Band of Horses ups the tempo, but risk sounding like a song out of Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas with their twangy take on "Plans". It's enjoyable, but silly at the same time.

Taken as a whole, it's a nice supplement to Grizzly Bear's other albums, however I crave newer material from them with other lyrics. I recommend listening to "He Hit Me and It Felt Like a Kiss", "Little Brother", and "Deep Blue Sea".

-Elana Rintala

(Looking for something similar? Try these bands: The Beach Boys, Iron and Wine, and Beirut.)