Posted in General Reviews, Recommended Listening, tagged cheerleader, Chris Taylor, christopher bear, ed droste, foreground, grizzly bear, two weeks, Veckatimest, While You Wait for the Others, Yellow House on March 27, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Grizzly Bear – Cheerleader
Normally when an album has been as anticipated as much as Veckatimest has, it inevitably sinks under the weight of expectation. In the case of Grizzly Bear, everything they have done since 2006′s Yellow House has signalled a band nearing their creative peak. (more…)
Posted in Video, tagged dan rossen, Department of Eagles, grizzly bear, in ear park, No One Does It Like You on March 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Posted in Video, tagged beach house, grizzly bear, two weeks, Veckatimest, Victoria Legrand on March 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Posted in Song of the Day, tagged Foreign Born, grizzly bear, On The Wing Now, person to person, Vacationing People on March 7, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Foreign Born – Vacationing People
The lack of financial backing, mismanagement, no PR, bad timing…sometimes I wonder what keeps a great band from breaking through. French Kicks and Jonquil are good examples (both favourites of mine), as is Foreign Born’s 2007 album On the Wing Now, which appeared on myseriously few radars. But the good news is they have another one on the way, entitled Person to Person (out on 23 June through Secretly Canadian), of which this track provides the first listen. (more…)
Posted in Song of the Day, Video, tagged animal collective, cover version, download, ed droste, grizzly bear, Leak, listen, panda bear, pre-order, ruby weapon, stream, twitter, two weeks, Veckatimest, youtube on February 12, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Ruby Weapon – Two Weeks (Grizzly Bear cover)
This song may just save your day. It surfaced on the net as the soundtrack to a slideshow of party pictures on YouTube. I extracted the audio and haven’t been able to stop listening to it since – it’s mesmeric. From what I can gather, it’s by a virtual unknown from Australia going by the name of Ruby Weapon, who has uploaded a batch of Animal Collective/Panda bear cover versions, but there’s little else in the way of information. Which is too bad, because I’m absolutely smitten with this. Best thing I’ve heard all week.
A few hours ago we had about 45 minutes to film and edit a little ‘about me’ segment, which was hastily put together…but with this song. I will take it down shortly, out of embarrassment, but for now – rare footage of me:
Posted in Song of the Day, tagged Chris Taylor, dan rossen, Department of Eagles, grizzly bear, Therapy Car Noise on September 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Department of Eagles – Therapy Car Noise
In Ear Park took a little time to grow on me but now that it has, I can’t stop listening to it. I think it will make the ideal musical accompaniment to the onset of autumn and I can’t wait to see the songs performed live. This record has a lot in common with Grizzly Bear’s Yellow House and I wonder if that’s a testament to the input Dan Rossen had on that album. (more…)
Posted in Song of the Day, tagged Chris Bear, Chris Taylor, Fast Fourier, grizzly bear, Yellow House on September 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Fast Fourier – Wonderlove
I should probably stop writing about Chris Taylor’s various side-projects – the man will grow uneasy. But by chance (honestly) I’ve just discovered a group he was in with Grizzly Bear bandmate Chris Bear. Named after an algorithm, Fast Fourier appear to have released two albums, the last of which, Tomorrow, Tomorrow, was released in 2006 – the same year as Yellow House. The album is now out of print and although the gushing blurb on Amazon describes it as “a break in rock history,” it certainly sounds edgier than the material one would normally associate with these guys, and it certainly warrants a gander over at their now forgotten-about MySpace profile. (more…)
Posted in Song of the Day, tagged Chris Taylor, grizzly bear, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, TV on the Radio on August 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson – The Debtor
It’s my birthday…and I have just got my hands on a Chris Taylor-produced album that I didn’t even know existed. Not only that, but I think this is my favourite out of all the songs I’ve been posting latetel. 24 year-old Miles will soon be touring the States with fellow Brooklyn-ites TV On The Radio and you can find his recent Daytrotter session (which includes a Dylan cover) here. (more…)
Posted in Song of the Day, tagged Chris Taylor, dan rossen, Department of Eagles, grizzly bear, in ear park on August 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Department of Eagles – No One Does It Like You
There is bound to be a blogger explosion over this track, but it’s too good not to post it. As I keep saying, Grizzly Bear are seeming more and more like a genuine super group these days – and that is only underlined by the quality of this song and the fact that Chris Taylor (GB’s bassist and producer) lent his Midas touch of proceedings. Apparently if you pre-order the DoE album In Ear Park now, you will also get a 7″ of the above track with Dan’s cover of Jojo’s ‘Too Little, Too Late’. (more…)
Posted in Video, tagged Bon Iver, grizzly bear on August 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Posted in Song of the Day, tagged cover version, grizzly bear, Mother and Child Reunion, paul simon on August 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Grizzly Bear – Mother and Child Reunion
This is a live cover of a Paul Simon track and only underlines the impression that Grizzly Bear have been (and continue to be) on a roll. These magic moments just keep whetting the appetite for that album next year…
Photo by artpunk
Posted in Song of the Day, Video, tagged download, ed droste, grizzly bear, mp3, new song, two weeks, Video on July 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
This is the debut performance of a new Grizzly Bear song, live on David Letterman last night. It’s a little keyboard-heavy and, by their own admission, they were quite nervous, but every single thing this band has done since Yellow House has been extraordinary. I just can’t wait until that new album is done! You can download an mp3 audio track of this performance here.
Posted in Interviews, tagged david byrne, David Shrigley, grizzly bear on July 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
While assuring me that he really is mentally sound, David Shrigley suddenly interrupts himself and catches me off guard. “I’m just looking out the window. There’s a man delivering a parcel and I’m wondering if that’s my parcel. It’s my birthday today. It’s from Amazon.com, a ‘learn to speak French’ tape…it’s my birthday present.” It’s a quintessential Shrigley moment that, albeit unintentionally, perfectly epitomises the tone intrinsic to his art.
Posted in Links, News, tagged Chris Taylor, dan rossen, daniel rossen, ed droste, grizzly bear, KCRW, live Session, Morning Becomes Eclectic, nic harcourt, While You Wait for the Others on February 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Just when you’re led to believe the band are in the middle of taking a long, well-deserved break, up pops their very own live (and long overdue) session on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic. Listen to a fully refreshed Grizzly Bear debut new song ‘While You Wait for the Others’ amongst a steller set list here. (more…)
Posted in Song of the Day, tagged Branches in the Dome, Broken Sparrow, Chris Taylor, Dave Longstreth, Dirty Projector, Dome Branches, grizzly bear, Most Valuable Player, Nat Baldwin, Orange Telecom on February 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Nat Baldwin – ‘Dome Branches’
The words might not have all that much obvious meaning and it certainly takes its time in warming up, but somehow this song manages to be wonderfully emotive and dramatic as it woozily sweeps its way across different time signatures. Supported by Dirty Projector’s Dave Longstreth on 12-string guitar, Nat Baldwin’s bowed double-bass goes careering off under a storm of strings, horns and frenetic jazz drumming, rousing together something special that demands repeated listening throughout the day. If the rest of the album is anywhere near as good as this, there’ll be plenty to look forward to with the release of Baldwin’s Most Valuable Player (produced by Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor) on Broken Sparrow this April.
Posted in News, tagged 1234, ed droste, feist, grizzly bear, leslie feist, letterman, one two three four, Shortlist Music Prize on February 5, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
“Canadian singer Leslie Feist is the winner of the Seventh Annual Shortlist Music Prize for her album The Reminder. Feist is the second female artist to win the prize, following Cat Power who won the award last year.Feist is the first Canadian winner of the Shortlist Music Prize, joining Irish singer Damien Rice and Icelandic band Sigur Ros as Shortlist winners who hail from outside the US. Previous winners also include American artists Sufjan Stevens, N*E*R*D and TV on the Radio.”
Feist performing ’1234′ live on Letterman backed up by an all-star choir including members of Grizzly Bear, The National, Broken Social Scene, the New Pornographers, and Mates of State.
Posted in Song of the Day, tagged dan rossen, daniel rossen, ed droste, grizzly bear, jo jo cover, too little too late on January 29, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Daniel Rossen – Too Little, Too Late
A wonderful cover of a terrible song, this hauntingly catchy reinterpretation makes the lifeless, auto-tuned musings of JoJo seem inspired – and that takes some doing. (more…)
Posted in Interviews, Press Clippings, Takeaway Shows, tagged arcade fire, architecture in helsinki, beirut, chryde, grizzly bear, interview, la blogotheque, marla hansen, take away shows, Takeaway Shows, vincent moon on September 11, 2007 | 1 Comment »
Parisien guerilla video bloggers Vincent Moon and Chryde (aka The Take Away Shows) bring music and film out of the venue, onto the streets, and onto your computer. Cian Traynor tracked them down on the streets of Paris.
Whether it’s squeezing Arcade Fire into an elevator or getting Grizzly Bear into a bathtub, French music site La Blogotheque has a way of capturing bands in a moment of haphazard beauty. The Take Away Shows are a series of vignettes that lure artists, with instrument in hand, out to wander the streets of Paris under the gaze of a loosely held camera.
(more…)
Posted in Live Reviews, tagged dublin, ed droste, grizzly bear, live review, whelan's on May 19, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Having been forced to cancel what was to be their debut Irish performance late last year, I don’t think many would dispute the claim that there were fewer gigs as highly anticipated as this one. Thankfully, not only was the enthusiasm flowing in both directions (before a single note had been played, Ed Droste jubilantly announced that Dublin was already the best destination on their tour), but for once I can honestly say that the sound was absolutely spot on, the venue’s acoustics perfectly up to the task of transmitting a live performance of one of the most stellar albums of 2006, “Yellow House.”
With four vocalists and a variety of instruments (an auto-harp, a recorder, and a flute managing to feature seamlessly amongst the standard tools of an indie-rock band), the note for note renditions that followed were enough to squeeze (at least temporarily) the memory of any other gig I might have described as “mesmerising” out of mind. Shimmering versions of “The Knife” and “Colorado” were interspersed with a cover of the Crystals’ “He Hit Me” and Dan’s Rossen’s spine-tingling take of the traditional number, “Deep Blue Sea” – for which I whooped in advance, causing him to remark: “Cool. Two people have heard of it.”
Download “Deep Blue Sea” – http://gvsbchris.com/15%20Deep%20Blue%20Sea.mp3
Quite simply, it was just one of those nights, a reaffirming celebration of word-of-mouth music that deserved every bit of the warm reception the band enjoyed [prompting Droste to declare: "we should just do a tour of Ireland for two months, playing pubs every night!"]. That Grizzly Bear are accessible enough to personally accommodate you while making your mind up between buying a vinyl copy of their album or one of their fantastic t-shirts, only draws a line under the experience of seeing them live. A wonderful album, a phenomenal band, and one surely destined only for further greatness.
