Grizzly Bear - Painted Ruins

Grizzly Bear are a band that I've been wanting to talk about for a long, long time.  They're a band that sometimes move me with just how haunting and beautiful they can be, but also have been a little confusing from time to time as well.  In 2004, they made their debut with "Horn Of Plenty".  Now, for the most part, this was a solo project of singer Ed Droste, and you can easily tell it.  This album had a very D.I.Y. feel to it, and more times than not had a tendency to be a bit messy.  But it also had a very strange charm to it, especially in seriously amazing tracks such as "Disappearing Act" that just stuck with you.  Grizzly Bear however really quickly came into their own with 2006's absolutely jaw dropping "Yellow House" album.  As far as a Psychedelic Folk album goes, this album is game changing.  The tracks on here are so incredibly lush and beautiful and seem to constantly change right in front of us.  The vocals are mind blowing, and some of these crescendos are seriously staggering.  If you haven't heard Grizzly Bear's stuff yet, "Yellow House" is the place to start.  2009's "Veckatimest" on the other hand, took me years to truly appreciate.  Listening to this album the first time, I felt like Grizzly Bear straight up slapped me right in the face with vibrant production, off kilter riffs, and absolutely stunning performances.  This is certainly an album you need to sit with to really appreciate.  But once you really get what's happening around you, it's actually really quite stunning.  On the other hand, 2012's "Shields" was much more inviting.  It was equally as stunning and quite bizarre at parts, but it seemed just so much more straightforward while remaining seriously beautiful.  Now, to be honest, I don't really know how to feel about these new singles.  Yes, they're stunning, and for the most part, I do really enjoy them.  But I don't get the same overwhelming feeling listening to any of them so far.  Hopefully, they'll do that more in context with the album!  Let's talk about this!  

(The song that got me and probably a whole lot of people into Grizzly Bear)

“Wasted Acres” starts this album off.  Only seconds in, and it’s clear that Grizzly Bear are working with the absolute most electronic sound they’ve ever worked with.  But honestly, I think they pull it off really well.  I love how Daniel Rossen’s voice is just so smooth and dreary over this very slow paced tune.  To be honest, I think the pacing on this one is actually really perfect and introduces us to the much more electronic sound of Grizzly Bear.  It’s also sadly not nearly as stunning as some of their previous material, which can either be a good thing or a bad thing.  In a way, it’s easier to swallow and doesn’t require as many listens.  But on the other hand, it also makes you think a whole lot less about what it is that you’re listening to.  Either way, I think “Wasted Acres” is a totally fine and enjoyable start.  Then we have “Mourning Sound”, and the very easily digestible and very straightforward sound that Grizzly Bear are going for continues.  There’s still a very strong sense of electronic music in those synths, however.  Ed’s very dreary tone on this one has a much more intriguing sound.  But overall, I certainly am digging this.  Grizzly Bear has always had such a way in taking a simple Indie Tune and making is something so much more with a vast atmosphere.  Also, I seriously am into the back and forth vocals between Daniel and Ed.  While “Mourning Sound” continues to be straightforward, I’m into it.  Now call me crazy, but “Four Cypresses” is a little too straightforward for my liking.  I would usually be totally fine with a much more and synthetic and robotic sounding indie tune.  But to be honest, this just really doesn’t do anything for me.  It sounds like any old synth based Indie Band doing an impression of Grizzly Bear’s sound, to be honest.  And while Daniel’s vocals are certainly stunning and beautiful, they’re not enough to give this one any life at all.  It’s just so damn sluggish, even when the heavier and more aggressive instrumentals come in.  Overall, I’m used to just hearing so much more from Grizzly Bear.  Even when the more Baroque elements come in, it just seems tame for Grizzly Bear.  Then we have “Three Rings”, and as the album rolls on, I can’t tell you how shocked I am to hear just how prominent the synthesizer is.  This one continues to be on the slower side of things.  But at the very least, this one has plenty going on instrumentally to make it come off as vibrant and interesting.  Plus, I feel like in some ways Ed’s more dreary performance goes a little more with these slower paced tunes than Daniel’s vocals.  Overall, this tune is the sort of vast, beautiful track that I’ve been wanting to hear for a while from Grizzly Bear.  I love the melodies, I love the breezy atmosphere, there’s nothing wrong with this one at all.  Plus, some of the synth parts in the last minute or so are seriously some of the most stunning moments I’ve heard so far.  

    Up next we have “Losing All Sense”, and to be honest this is easily the track I’ve heard here that sounds the most like classic Grizzly Bear.  Overall, this is actually one of my favorite tunes here.  I love how quaint and much more in the Indie Pop direction this one is.  It’s just so damn snappy, and I love to hear Grizzly Bear working with this more upbeat sound, even if it’s not THAT upbeat.  There’s a serious Singer/Songwriter vibe to this, and the synth is barely even a factor.  So far, however, this album has just been alright.  The songs are decent enough, but nothing about this seriously has taken me away to where I want to go when listening to Grizzly Bear material.  But this track to me sounds really fresh and easily the most interesting thing they’ve done all album.  “Aquarian” is next, and this one being so damn hard to place and experimental that it actually gives me some hope.  The atmosphere on this one is just so eclectic, it feels like everything is just rushing right past you.  But to be honest, I don’t find it all that flattering in the long run.  I like Daniel’s vocals and all, and hearing them in this almost freakish atmosphere almost seems natural.  But sadly, I’m not buying it.  I just really feel like while they may have not completely outgrown this sound, It’s far from the best example of it.  It’s tough, however, because a lot of the instrumentals here are certainly likable.  Now on the other hand, “Cut-Out” is so much more of a better example of the Grizzly Bear style.  This one is just so much more off kilter and interesting.  And with Ed’s very dreary vocals returning, I feel like this is much more under the band's control.  Hell, even when Daniel’s vocals come in, I feel like this one continues to be seriously solid and stunning.  The backing vocals on this one just make it sound so huge and gorgeous sounding, and some of the heavier instrumentals come off really well too.  So it’s not like Grizzly Bear have totally lost their touch.  But it’s certainly seeming a lot harder to get into their usual groove.  Then we have “Glass Hillside”, easily the dreariest and most somber tune yet by far.  I actually think Daniel’s vocals here sound exhausted and completely worn out.  I like a whole lot of the elements here, to be honest, and as far as an off kilter, slower jam goes, this is pretty fantastic.  But I feel like for as decent as this is, it could have gone so much further.  This easily could have been a whole lot more eclectic and more beautiful.  However, little details here and there make “Glass Hillside” a whole lot easier to stomach.  Plus, Ed’s very haunting backing vocals are a really fantastic touch.  

    Thankfully, Grizzly Bear does end off the album on a pretty decent note with a couple of decent tracks. First, we have “Neighbors”, which honestly sounds like an unused track from one of their more concrete albums.  I absolutely love the very whimsical sound of the atmosphere and swirling instrumentals.  Everything about this one just comes off so brilliant, and almost has a folktronica sound thanks to the continued addition of that synth.  But to be honest, it really comes off magnificently. These are some of Ed’s most chilling and interesting vocals yet by far, and some of his dual vocals with Daniel are some of the most haunting moments of this entire album.  “Neighbors” is one hell of a track.  Then we have “Systole”, which is certainly Daniel’s time to shine.  His vocals do sound very pure and all.  And I honestly thought his vocals would have been a little more haunting considering the stillness of the track.  But I still think this is decent since I do enjoy the very off kilter vibe to this one.  But while a lot of this track is decent, it’s not gripping me completely, much like this entire album.  Thankfully, this album’s finale “Sky Took Hold” grips me immediately.  This track, while it’s slow, is ridiculously tense.  I actually think that Ed pulls off this very epic and seriously dark sounding track very well.  The instrumentals are immense and patient, and some of the vocals are done so well.  “Sky Took Hold” makes for one hell of an ending.  

Rating: 7.5/10

Give A Listen To:  “Mourning Sound”, “Three Rings”, Losing All Sense”, "Neighbors"

Genre: Baroque Folk / FolkTronica / Indie Rock / Baroque Folk / Art Rock

If You Dig This, Check Out:  Grizzly Bear - “Veckitamist”, The Books - “The Lemon of Pink”, Beach House “Bloom”

Overall Thoughts:  This certainly isn't a horrible Grizzly Bear project, far from it to be honest.  But there are just so many momnets on here that I really don't think that they've got this new, more electronic sound completely under wraps.  Some times their classic, Psychedelic Folk sound comes out in droves, however, and that makes this album much easier to swallow.  Overall, this is decent, but I expected a little more.