Grizzly Bear
‘Veckatimest’
(Warp Records)

Like Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear have found the perfect consistency amidst their melting pot of ideas to create something wonderful; ‘Veckatimest’ has the same  euphoric sense of juxtaposed minimal expanse as ‘Merriweather Post Pavillion’ with sequencers and synths replaced with acoustic guitars and vocal harmonies.
The genius – we’re not underplaying that word – of ‘Veckatimest’ lies in the Brooklyn group’s aptitude for turning traditional American music on its head. That’s why the mainly sparse ‘While You Wait For The Others’ is punctuated with sharp, glottal guitars and why ‘Southern Point’ slides through folk into a pool of harmonics and acoustic textures. ‘Veckatimest’ is a myriad tapestry based on simple influences; that’s what makes it so compelling.

Simon Jay Catling