Veckatimest is a record filled with little, meticulous musical moments embedded within large-scale arrangements and harmonies. It is at once challenging and accessible, beguiling and pleasurable. It is an exquisite record that showcases intricate musicianship and a savvy sense of songcraft. The songs are put together, and the sequencing is impeccable. Veckatimest's tangible, timeless quality will hold up after decades of listening.
Easily one of this year's best songs, "Two Weeks" is an effortless, ageless pop song, displaying the sunnier qualities of Grizzly Bear's baroque melodies and indie-orchestration. The way lead vocalist Ed Droste hits those three notes in yesterday reminds The D Man why he loves great pop music in the first place. Grizzly Bear are great lyricists, even though the album's oblique lyrical refrains, as in "Two Weeks," primarily serve as another part of the ensemble, another place to enhance the mood or melodies of a given passage.
"Cheerleader" is a deceptively groovy piece of psychedelia. "About Face" will stop you in your tracks with its lilting acoustic buildups. "While You Wait For The Others" is a perfect ten out of ten on any song scale worth its salt. And "Ready, Able" is simply The D Man's favorite track on the record.
Grizzly Bear has produced two of the best albums of the past five years, and for that the group deserves high praise for evolving and innovating in a very natural way. Yellow House's spare instruments, reverbed melodies, and dreamy rhythms resulted in a hazy, elusive classic, which then gave way to the large-scale production and sweeping ebullience of this year's Veckatimest. There is something impressive that occurs when a band goes into the studio to make a great and important record--and then actually makes a great and important record. Veckatimest is the sonic manifestation of a talented group of musicians doing just that. And it happens to be the best album produced in 2009.
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