Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

Yellow House was brilliant. When I first saw the soon-to-be massive Veckatimest thread on AtEaseWeb, I had no idea what I or anyone could expect after this perfection. Maybe I was expecting an extension of Yellow House, or maybe I was expecting a Kid-A-like drastic change in style. Whatever the expectations were, it was to be satisfied through Veckatimest—however not good enough to go beyond the lines of Yellow House.

I didn’t participate in the leak party before the day of release. My Veckatimest experience began with the video for “Two Weeks,” in which the weird-looking robot versions of the band sing and eventually explode (it would be very interesting to know how the robot look was made). Honestly, “Two Weeks” was a disappointment. It became clear that my expectation was an extension of Yellow House. The general air of the song was way too bright and brisk for Grizzly Bear (but again, my favorite song off Yellow House is “Marla”). The jumping beats weren’t exactly what I was expecting from Grizzly Bear. I had to run off to the AtEase forums and desperately ask everyone to tell me other tracks are stronger than “Two Weeks,” which two people assured they are. A few more repeated listens revealed the beauty of the melody, but it has remained one of the weak tracks for me so far.

One hears a lot of qualities shared with Yellow House from the first track of Veckatimest, “Southern Point.” The steady layer of guitar sub-melody and drum beats beneath Ed Droste’s vocals is just one reminisce of the band’s previous album. But one noticeable change in style includes Droste’s vocals. Whereas previous vocal tone was plain and rather fragile without much vibrato, now it is more confident and strong. The transition in the song is a nice surprise and the first signal that Veckatimest isn’t going to be as consistent as Yellow House.

The Grizzly Bear style is still present throughout “All We Ask” in the beginning. But there is a surprise about halfway into the song during the chorus. It sounds like David Bowie! (it's not just me, is it?) I’m sure Grizzly Bear has been influenced by David Bowie, but I wasn’t expecting this clear indication of it merged into the Griz sound which is quite different from Bowie in nature. It might have been an experiment with the newfound vocal tones (Pitchfork review says Dan Rossen sang it, but I don’t know the difference between him and Droste).

“Fine for Now” has some great melody and harmony in it. There even isn’t a need to mention the “instrumental” voice. Smooth changes into each part of the song create that familiar “epic” Grizzly Bear song vibe. “Cheerleader” starts off with a change in style and funky bass beats. This track marks the transition within the album to a lighter and stripped tone.

“Dory,” a moderate favorite of the fans, sounds like wind. Quiet and flowing sound of vocals (great harmony, as always) and the varying instruments makes a perfect sit-beside-a-lake-and-feel-the-wind type summer song. But the one reason I love this song so much is that it has clarinet, my favorite non-bass instrument, in it. And it plays as such a great windlike element in the song.

I wouldn’t be surprised if I heard “Ready, Able” in a bar or a café (hey, not that I’ve been to a bar). I have a negligible experience with jazz music, but I must guess this sounds pretty jazzy. The chorus has an emotional melody that I feel like I have heard before but is probably a déjà vu. “About Face” is the most Radiohead-like track in the album. It has more rock elements than any other tracks in the album with more powerful drum beats and fuzzy guitar. If you missed your typical rock sound listening to this album, you can find part of it in this song… just a really small part.

“Hold Still” is more of an interlude with inserted guitar parts that sound Japanese. It reminds me of the horrible Japanese music we had to play in band and irritates me a little, so I’ll just skip this one. “While You Wait for the Others” is regarded the weakest track by the most, which I disagree. Because “Two Weeks” is the weakest. No, not really. I just love it when a Grizzly Bear track has lots of bass in it. And no one can say no to the crazy vocal melody 3:20 into the song. Grizzly Bear is one band that appeals for me even though their songs don’t have a dramatic climax, and this one does have a dramatic climax.

“I Live with You” starts almost orchestral before the weirdly melancholy vocal kicks in, and the intro sounds a bit like a Disney soundtrack to be frank. The not-so-orchestral arrangement after the intro has a good mix of epic and, what would I call it, that rainy atmosphere. I might as well say this is a whimsical storm, but it’s definitely a lame metaphor. Forget it.

“Foreground,” the last track of the album and a beautiful ballad, is “Videotape” of Veckatimest. Not as mind-blowing as “Videotape,” but “Foreground” serves its role as a closer. But it might have been more beautiful with an epic scale track with 34 instruments that ends stripped into vocals only.

In the end, the only thing Veckatimest lacks is the consistency shown in Yellow House. I can't decide if it's a good thing or a bad thing because Yellow House was more like "every track on this sounds the same" and in Veckatimest, you can really tell between the tracks. I shall give some more listens and find out. After all, this is a two-day old album.