The first time I heard a song from the band Grizzly Bear was on Alt Nation on Sirius XM, when they played “Two Weeks”. I was immediately taken by the chiming piano sound that opens the song, so I thought I would check the band out. The name of the album “Two Weeks” is on is called Veckatimest. I thought to myself, “what the hell is “veckatimest”?” Turns out that the band named the album after a small island off the coast of Massachusetts they visited while recording the album; the name itself is Native American in origin.
The band Grizzly Bear is an interesting band overall. Originally a moniker for Ed Droste’s music in the early 2000’s, Droste recruited the other band members after releasing their first album Horn of Plenty (2004). All of the songs on that record were written by Droste, so their second record Yellow House (2006) was a more collaborative record amongst the four members. Yellow House earned the quartet top album honors amongst several local papers and media in the New York City-Metro area (the band is based in Brooklyn), and the band’s popularity began to grow more rapidly. They received high regards from Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead at the end of Radiohead’s tour (of which Grizzly Bear opened on the second leg).
# 181 – Grizzly Bear, Veckatimest (Metascore = 85)
According to band members, Veckatimest is a more accessible record than their previous records. Chris Bear (drums, backing vocals) described the record: “I think that it’s kinda clearer, clearer equals more accessible I feel like clearer equals more accessible in general as a rule.” They deliberately felt they had to make the record differently since the previous records were developed from songs that had been written by the members of the band, whereas coming into Veckatimest they had concepts but no developed songs. The collaboration seems to have had a grand effect.
”Southern Point” and “Two Weeks” are my favorite songs from this album, particularly “Two Weeks”. Both songs ring with rich harmonies and piano, lulling the listener into a trance. Victoria Legrand of Beach House lends backing vocals to “Two Weeks” (if you know Beach House’s music, you know the voice she has adds to this lulling vibe). Daniel Rossen (vocals, guitars, keyboards) and Droste share lead vocal duties, switching back and forth on the album and within the songs. The songs at times sound like folk rock, pop, chamber pop, and lo-fi, sometimes mashed together, sometimes singular.
When I first heard the record months ago, I liked chunks of the album but not the whole thing. I mentioned the lulling effect, and at times this record wasn’t transfixing me to the music or lyrics--it was putting me to sleep (sort of like the Bon Iver album before). In this listen I have tried to take a fresher approach, and the album has grown on me some. I don’t hold the record in as high of regard as critic sites such as Pitchfork or Under the Radar do, but it is much stronger hearing it now.
Some songs work well for me here: obviously the aforementioned two, “All We Ask”, “Ready, Able”, and “While You Wait for the Others”. Others just don’t draw me in emotionally to the magic of the lyrics and music. “Dory” just didn’t move me the way the others did. I admire the band for writing in a way that incorporates Veckatimest Island into personal relationships that blossom and fail during the record. Musically this is a lush record, but at times the quiet sounds and beats seemed to lower my blood to a crawl. Pitchfork reviewer Paul Thompson points out that while the album was probably conceived as a whole piece, the band still tends to meander as it did in earlier records.
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