Grizzly Bear

Home-recorded songs can feel incomplete whilst being as tantalizingly indicative as the sketches before a painting. The outlines, though interesting in their own respect, are not as satisfying as the finished version. Grizzly Bear, however, have approached song writing as a craft to master from their very first album, Horn of Plenty onwards. Enamored by how a song "reads", they were fully present from prologue to denouement even though singer/songwriter Edward Droste recorded them by himself in his Brooklyn bedroom. Fuelled by a bout of post-relationship inspiration, those first songs celebrated the creative liberation of the ProTools era. They explored the depths of break-ups through crystal-clear tones, field sounds and woozy, complex harmonies. Droste has now gathered a band: Christopher Bear (name entirely coincidental) played drums and helped polish Horn of Plenty in its final stages; Chris Taylor soon followed the duo post HOP release and was responsible for electronics, woodwinds, bass, and vocals; Daniel Rossen sang, played guitar and contributed new songs. The line-up was complete, and as a newly established four piece, they began musical exploration. The music was swee... more...