Click here to talk about the next Grizzly Bear album - Veckatimest

26/5/09

at long last...

1 About Face
2 All We Ask
3 Cheerleader
4 Ready, Able
5 Southern Point
6 That's Not True
7 Two Weeks
8 While You Wait For the Others
9 Fine For Now
10 Dory
11 I Live With You
12 Foreground

Supposedly it's an island.

Veckatimest Island is one of the Elizabeth Islands of Dukes County, Massachusetts, USA. The island has a land area of 0.0675 km² (0.026 sq mi, or 16.675 acres) and was uninhabited as of the 2000 census. [1]

thank you wikipedia

Hard to know what to expect from this considering how much they've pushed their sound between previous releases.

true, and that even increase the anticipation..

http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/o2106108.jpg

Fine For Now and While You Wait... (as performed live) sound to me somehow like the songs from the last Walkmen album

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/download/50396-on-repeat-grizzly-bear-while-you-wait-for-the-others-live-on-kcrw-mp3-strea

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/download/142489-new-music-grizzly-bear-two-weeks-live-on-late-show-with-david-letterman-st

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/download/144567-video-grizzly-bear-fine-for-now-new-song-live-at-all-points-west

"Two Weeks" and "While You Wait for the Others" were probably the two best tracks I heard last year. Combine that with the quality of the Department of Eagles album, and you can count me as in high anticipation.

"Two Weeks" and "While You Wait for the Others" were probably the two best tracks I heard last year.

OTM. by a long shot, even. i'm sort of irked that they leaked so early though, as i've probably listened to them a few hundred times each. is "this is going to be the best album ever" getting my hopes up too high?

It's real good.

I'm really looking forward to this. Like, REALLY. Owen, have you played on this one?

No, I didn't play on it. I offered, but they wanted Nico instead.

It's real good.

Merriweather good?

God I hope "Merriweather good?" doesn't become part of the ILM lexicon...

looks like it's gonna be more straightforward-song-oriented record, less atmospheric and "experimental" than Yellow House

^alarming news

if you say so

welcome news

^alarming news

― sonderangerbot, Monday, February 16, 2009 10:17 PM (Yesterday)

http://www.chelseapies.tv/breaking-news.jpg

yeah, it's more alarming than welcome..
it's a logical prediction i think, after listening to the 3 songs above,plus the 2 songs they contributed to the 4AD new compilation album,
than again,time will tell..

Not really sure that pop melodies are their strong point (knife was the only big hummalong choon on yellow house) its more the atmospherics and twitches of the thing that got me hooked.

"Each day spend it with you yeah / all my time spend it with me yeah" says you're wrong.

haha, yeah that one too.

it has leaked, really not good at all, but then i don't like them. i am sure the kids will love it.

apparently the leak is super low quality, i'm trying to wait out til something better floats around. anyone found anything better than 128kb?

pretty disappointing on first listen..

Was never much of a fan before, but kind of unexpectedly liking this. "Two Weeks" especially.

256kb version has leaked. There's no groundbreaking move here, but overall the record is pretty solid on first listen. And While You Wait for the Others is great.

I'm now officially sure this band are not for me. Couldn't get into Yellow House apart from Knife and this one just sort floats by in a mellow fog. I actually found it difficult to listen to the whole thing in one go, just too samey.

"I'm now officially sure this band are not for me"

i don't think i'll listen to the current record too much either, but it's different from Yellow House, so maybe it WILL be a good record for people who disliked them before

I love this cover.

http://www.mbvmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/grizz.jpg

I don't get the alarm at it being more song-orientated. I prefer "Two Weeks" and "While You Wait for the Others" to their previous stuff - or find them more striking or whatever - for precisely that reason. I'll probably wait for the release to listen to this, I'd say.

"southern point" starts out sounding like skip spence before going all full-blown orchestral. that's a nice surprising hark back to horn of plenty

this is one of the worst records of the year. i am glad that there is not much praise for it. i guess it could still be coming. the same as those who seem to think that 'the watchmen' isn't pure torture. i am happy for kelly leak though. now maybe there will be a michael beck revival.

the last half of that post was admirably cubistic!

"i am glad that there is not much praise for it"

yeah i mean it doesnt come out for like two months so

I think we should all look into posting in a cubistic style. Otherwise we could all get stuck in a rut. Just like agricultural machinery in a rainstorm. Heavy equipment requires immense amounts of fossil fuels. Gerald Ford.

Leif.

LEIF!

language poetry pronouncements on grizzly bear responses should sure show the key to them

they're trying too hard to be "great" on this record imo

and it shows

"i am glad that there is not much praise for it"

as a matter of fact theres lots of praise to it.most people who listened to it seems to like it.
(2nd best record of 2009 in rateyourmusic for example)

DJ Martian?

ha?!

hey is that the actual track listing above? if so i have been listening to it in a helluva fucked up order.

do you guys actually not like the album?

It's not the right order, above. The ending is right, but it begins Southern Point -> Two Weeks.

Backlash came really early for this one

"hookless" - possibly tho i don't really think so
"grooveless" - depends on what yr looking for i guess
"shapeless" - could definitely see this
but what is "gutless" anyway?

doesn't make you feel like you are going to shit your pants

wimpy

like the band hasn't listened to enough rock and roll to make it interesting for those of us who LOVE rock and roll

i mean yeah i guess if you require x amnt of rock and roll in music i can see these bands failing.

i mean yeah i kinda do--otherwise i'll just listen to classical music

classical music is for pantywaists

sometimes we want to act like pantywaists--good music to wet the bed to

lol i have no use whatsoever for recorded classical music.

This thread is making me wanna play Killing Joke.

you should have said "this thread makes me want to read a thread on I Love Books."

Does anyone remember the movie The Ice Pirates, with the space herpes? Listening to Grizzly Bear is what I assume that contracting space herpes would be like.

GRIZZLY BEAR

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31hDuFOy3DL._SL262_.jpg

-VS-

SPACE HERPES

http://www.theicepirateship.co.uk/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/.pond/spaceherpes.jpg.w300h163.jpg

... there's just an air of masculine superiority to it that i don't really like

also grizzly bear are gay im pretty sure well some of them atleast.

"This is just music for saddo students who think the scene in 'Rushmore' when "Ooh La La' starts playing is the most life-affirming moment in the history of art."

I've been listening to this on and off since it came out, and the better moments on it are only coming into focus for me now, i.e. it did seem like an undifferentiated mass at first. One thing I did notice was that the bass and drums are used mostly as punctuation, so you're never gonna see them lock into a groove. Not that the songs seem structured/written with that in mind. Also, yer average indie pop rhythm section can look a bit out of their depth when they try that stuff.

That said, a lot of the more over the top criticism of the band seems like it's coming from people who want to live vicariously through music, and to them, Grizzly Bear seems a bit too much like looking in the mirror (ooh burn I know).

I just think there are some good songs but the album lacks cohesiveness (sequencing specifically) and was generally over-thought on a song by song basis.

That's the best criticism I've seen of it thus far. I think it ought to be twO songs shorter.

free show in de Willaimsburg today

might be a mob scene though. last week they turned away girltalk/max tundra goers who didn't show up by like 11

haha, 11. wtf

the gates don't open til 2. Screw any show that involves 4 hrs in line.

naw you can just walk right in. they dont come on till like 6. that line is for suckers.

I got thru the gate at 3:15. Liked their set, esp you-know-that-one-song, but don't get the worship.

I assume the "you-know-that-one-song" is The Knife, but the new disc is waaaaayyyyyy better than Yellow House (The Knife is on Yellow House).

so, uh, "while you wait for the others" featuring michael mcdonald

You mean starring. He has the lead!

listening to this Michael McDonald version right now. it sounds very different and very good.

I only heard a portion of it and it sounded kind of strange.

but the new disc is waaaaayyyyyy better than Yellow House

Respectfully disagree.

i listened to it on bad speakers but while i liked mcdonald's vocal, it sounded awkwardly placed on the original track.

totally

i think the thing that stood out for me on my first listen was how it ended. Michael was really able to shine, though the original is better.

couple listens later i'm diggin it a lot tbh.

this whole album is actually intriguing.

I feel bad for being kind of dismissive on first listen way back whenever.

they have taken a beating as of late on this board. their album is better then Bat for Lashes or Yeah Yeah Yeahs which ranked higher.

I don't think ilm hates grizzly bear as much as ilm likes the idea of hating grizzly bear.

"hookless" (sorta) "grooveless" (I am pretty sure they weren't trying to make funk music) and "shapeless" (this is a good thing)...and very pretty. also kinda proggy.

yeah, been finally coming around on this album the past few months. mea culpa. it still wouldn't have made my top 10 but mighta snuck in the top 20. while you wait for the others is great.

love Ed Droste's soaring, reverbed-out oooooohhhhhhoooooohhhhhhoooooohhhhhh at the end of "While You Wait For The Others"

tbh i kind of love how ready, able's chorus sounds

Can't get enough of this at the moment.

My bandmates all fucking love this album and basically want to do this kind of thing, whereas I just wanna do funky reggae post-punk jams. How can I tell them they're wrong?

Maybe you're in the wrong band.

never liked anything by these guys before, but "Sleeping Ute" is awesome

tis indeed

In retrospect this is one of my favorite records of the 00's.

it's an awesome record, and they're an exceptional band. your revive and the thread i just posted coincided

yes covers: opo

there isn't enough magic music to go around

coincided because your yes thread coincided with my having recently revisited this, which made me think to revive this thread

The other night I was working on a song on the guitar and then I thought to myself "I think I have sort of a Southern Point vibe in mind," and then I went to listen to that and thought "I will never record anything remotely as breathtaking as this, should probably just give up."