REVIEWS

grizzly bearA friend of mine described Yellow House as "Like Animal Collective, only with no good songs," and while I would somewhat concur, this album has a layer to it which is less tangible and hard to describe.Something special seems to lie beneath the surface or, rather, high above the surface in the foggy atmosphere.If they were to be stripped down, the individual songs might seem to wade in the unremarkable swamp of indie-acoustic music with lyrics that blend into the humidity, and vocals which sound like many a college student playing acoustic guitar in his room after breaking up with his high school girlfriend (or boyfriend) while listening to a lot of Pinback. And so the fact that this album's foundation is a bit lackluster makes its finest moments that much more impressive, for Grizzly Bear seem to do what they can to disguise the progressions and lyrics with soaring creativity. The arrangement, instrumentation and production are meticulous, yet retain a certain necessary rawness with excellent results, allowing this album to transcend a fairly boring genre and make itself a minor point of interest for producer-types and audiophiles along with the slews of depressed bedroom kids and art school types. The entire album has a rich and grainy feel to it, something Beach Boys running throughout, and a wide array of sounds and instruments which never sound forced, but meld together into something greater than their parts. If only the root melodies themselves were more memorable and the lyrics were presented with a more original approach, the album could've been a landmark for this kind of thing. While far from "Vanguard", a word used in the press release, (is that word EVER acceptable in the realm of self-promotion?) it is terribly ambitious, so I give credit where credit is due. I can see a lot of people really loving this album. :: Grizzly Bear: Yellow House - Warp/Rough Trade

growingJoe DeNardo und Kevin Doria mögen nicht wirklich Interviews geben. Was soll man da auch erzählen, steht ja alles in der Musik zu lesen. Seit die beiden von Olympia/WA nach Brooklyn umgezogen sind, klingt ihr Nature Drone aus Gitarren und Pedals entweder hektischer oder aber extrem narkotisiert. Color Wheels ist wie die beiden Vorgänger The Soul Of The Rainbow und The Sky`s Run Into The Sea ein Tryptichon aus flüssigen Klang-Arkaden geworden. Wie elektronische Wellen wogen die auralen Kluster sanft mit der Brandung. Gäbe es virtuelle Strände und Küsten samt Leuchtturm in der Wirklichkeit da draussen, wäre Color Wheels der bestmögliche Soundtrack zur Verflüssigung der eigenen Gen-Pixeldatei. :: Growing: The Color Wheel - Rock Action/Pias/Rough Trade