This Brooklyn quartet's 2009 album, Veckatimest, is already predicted
to top many "best of the year" lists, and it's only October. What is
it about this recording that has earned it glowing comparisons to Pet
Sounds and other seminal American pop records? Sure, the voices of
the four gents make for inviting textures, ranging from pure and
bell-like to warm and whiskeyed. And yes, such sophisticated vocal
counterpoint and intricate arrangements are seldom heard in pop music.
Reviews have praised the record's timeless sound, due in part to the
woody reverberations of the Massachusetts house in which they
recorded.

Whatever the lure, the Veckatimest charm translates in full to Grizzly
Bear's live set. Two sold-out Fillmore shows in June proved that the
band was not just a studio creation, as the spacious, layered songs
left room for dramatic climaxes and sublimely beautiful resolutions.
The four switch instruments and all take turns singing lead lines, but
Grizzly Bear's secret weapon in the live setting may be Chris Taylor.
Sliding from Rickenbacker bass to flute to clarinet, Taylor treats
each instrument with an array of effects pedals that transform their
timbres into surprising waves of texture at key moments.

Highlights will likely include the elegant single "Two Weeks" and the
surging, menacing "I Live With You," but honestly, these four voices
could harmonize while singing the language of a parking ticket and it
would be difficult to turn away. KEVIN SEAL