Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

As much as any artist I can think of, Grizzly Bear is a band that lives off moments. There are songs on this album that are brilliant all the way through, such as the piano driven and utterly infectious "Two Weeks". But a number of songs, especially around the middle of the track list, could easily be justified as at least a little bit boring. Nothing wrong with them musically, they just aren't particularly interesting for the most part. They're nearly all saved though by at least a couple passages, even if they only last a few seconds, that remind you how good this band can be at its best. In a perfect world, a band wouldn't have to remind you how good it is, it would just be apparent the whole time you're listening. And I'm sort of exaggerating the degree to which these "boring" tracks are uninteresting. They're all entirely pleasant to the ear, it's just that they don't stand up to "Southern Point" or "While You Wait for the Others". The album both begins and ends pretty brilliantly, and it's enough along with those moments throughout that middle to say I do like this album quite a bit. I think their previous release Yellow House was probably more consistently good throughout, those the highs of Veckatimest are every bit as lofty. Grizzly Bear would be hard pressed to work their way in as one of my favorite bands, but their early career so far is pretty darn promising.