• Share

Ok, ok, there are only a few 2009 records I have left to review, and this is one of them.  This album came out last spring. I bought it over the summer, and it has taken me a long time to figure my opinion.  I’ve listened to it, read up on it, and I even went and bought Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys to have a comparison.  What do I think?  It isn’t that bad.

Veckatimest has been stacked against Merriweather Post Pavillion, by Animal Collective, I don’t think that is fair.  This album is trying very hard to use space and be creative in ways that Brian Wilson brought out in the mid-60s. Trust me. Listen to Pet Sounds, and you can hear the direct influence.  The harmonies are there, but Grizzly Bear has a lot of open space that sort of hangs.  I can understand using reverb in a song because it sounds cool, you just have to offset that somehow.

If you’ve seen a Volkswagon commercial in the last few weeks then you know “Two Weeks” the best Brian Wilson song on the album.  Check out “Southern Point”, “Cheerleader”, “I Live With You” and “Dory” to get an interesting sampling.  Where Animal Collective poured on sounds to create a collage, Grizzly Bear strips a lot of that away to make a piece of art.  I would also listen to the Fleet Foxes, if you want to hear some good folk harmony.  Maybe I need to hear more of their material, but there was a lot of build up for this release, and I think I missed a lot of it.  Maybe I’m wrong, it happens.