Artist: Grizzly Bear

Genre: Indie/Experimental

Grade: A

Veckatimest is Grizzly Bear’s newest edition to their collection and it might be their most sonically dynamic as well. Yellow House was released and put Grizzly Bear on the map and introduced their unique sound and Rossen’s impressive songwriting contributions to the band. Veckatimest builds upon this sound and masters it. This album is very similar to yellow house but it is a perfected outgrowth. The album starts strong with Southern Point and continues to build with the single Two Weeks. The album cools down with more of the Grizzly Bear sound in All We Ask and Fine for Now. Both songs reveal the different styles between Rossen and Droste, yet create a unifying dynamic between them. This album reveals the band’s growth and their understanding of their desired musical direction. For example, one could say this album is much poppier than their previous releases with hints of influence from bands like Fleet Foxes and Animal Collective, but their songs also mimic their older releases like Horn of Plenty. While I will agree there are more catchy rhythms to Veckatimest than previous albums, I would not say this album is poppy. If you’re looking for some cool, chanty, trippy, indie then this is for you. Reminiscent of centuries past, this album will not die fast. It’s full of brilliant songwriting and composition. This is a great album, maybe one of the top indie releases for the year. Check it out and enjoy!

–Curren (Pee Wee)