Veckatimest

Grizzly Bear ups the ante with their third album, Veckatimest, complementing their trademark sound with classy orchestration and flexing vocals to match.

Experimental foursome Grizzly Bear is back with a third full-length, sure to be a hipster favorite. Veckatimest finds the spectral vocals of frontman Ed Droste more daring than on the Brooklynites’ previous efforts, and from the first track “Southern Point,” it’s apparent that he’s flexing his showier troubadour side. Songs like “Ready, Able” start out as standard indie-rock jams before blossoming with intricate orchestration. “Two Weeks” steps the beat up but remains true to the fantastic sounds from the foursome’s wildly influential Yellow House. “While You Wait for the Others” posits a nice argument about wasted youth, with eerie echoes over postpubescent, angst-pop guitar chords. Produced by Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor, this album has the decadent vibe of guitarist Daniel Rossen’s side project, Department of Eagles, but with perhaps more lavishness. Taylor mimics the escalating instrumentation not unlike famed soul producer Phil Spector. These song structures, coupled with Droste’s dreamy voice, amount to what sounds like a fey pop-opera full of ethereal crescendos and mystic sensibilities.