The Bear is Back
Its been a banner year for the increasingly remarkable folk experimentalists in Grizzly Bear, solidifying their move from underground heroes to the ranks of acknowledged masters in the art of song craft. From co-headlining a performance with the L.A. Philharmonic in March, to performing at the Brooklyn Academy of Music as part of the Love in Hard Times:The Music of Paul Simon series, to recently finishing a dream tour with Radiohead, the Brooklyn quartets been deservedly drawing the ears and eyes of all kinds of major players.
Grizzly Bear has evolved dramatically since its 2004 debut Horn of Plenty,a beautiful, loose collage of affecting vocals, layered instrumentation, electronics and found sounds, which began as the solo effort of singer/guitarist Ed Droste. Droste, who initially laid the albums groundwork through bedroom recordings, later fleshed it out with help from multi-instrumentalist Christopher Bear, and subsequently pulled a full band together, recruiting Daniel Rossen (vocals and guitar) and Chris Taylor (electronics, woodwinds, bass and vocals).
Together the foursome recorded 2006s Yellow House, which, though it retained the DIYaesthetic of Horn of Plenty, was a more lush, cohesive effort, filled with gorgeous vocal harmonies and instant classics like the hypnotic Knife. It landed on numerous critics yearend best-of lists. And now, Grizzly Bear is in the midst of recording the much-anticipated fulllength follow up to Yellow House, which left fans and critics understandably anxious for more. Its a lot of work but really exciting to get into as its been so long since we recorded Yellow House, Droste says. Id say we are a little over halfway tracking and recording the songs.We havent even really started mixing.We hope to get the whole thing done before Christmas hits. The new record may end up being a slicker production than Yellow House, based on the recording the band has done thus far.While Yellow House was recorded at Drostes childhood house near Cape Cod and took on the homey warmth of the surroundings, much of the new album has thus far been recorded in a traditional studio.The four enjoyed several weeks this summer recording at the lavish Allaire Studios, a massive estate perched on a mountaintop in the Catskills where luminaries from David Bowie to My Morning Jacket have laid down tracks.
We were offered to use the space free, which is the main reason we decided to go up there, and the setting was absolutely blissful and put everyone in a great mood, Droste says. I wouldnt say the building had the same nostalgic, emotional connection that Yellow House did, but it affected the recording in the sense that we had amazing instruments and microphones and acoustics.
And soon the band will head back to the coast of Massachusetts to wrap up recording, with hopes of a spring 2009 release. We are finishing back at a residence on Cape Cod, a different house than before, which we are excited to hole up in at the end of October, Droste says. Amre Klimchak
> Grizzly Bear
Oct. 10, Hammerstein Ballroom, 311 W. 34th St. (at 8th Ave.), 212-307-7171; 8, $35.