It has been two long years since the release of Grizzly Bear's album Horn of Plenty, which, like many New York art-rock albums of the era, featured a mish-mosh of chaotic melodies and exciting creativity that had been unfortunately overlooked by other indie pioneers such as Sufjan Stevens and The Arcade Fire, who also released monumental albums within the same time period.
One trait that many art-rock geeks found glaringly missing from Grizzly Bear's first release was that they lacked a true sense of uniformity. Horn of Plenty gave the impression these guys were just sitting in front of a mixer deciding where the bangin' harpsichord lick would fit in best.
After two years of maturation however, Grizzly Bear's new album Yellow House proves to the masses that this band can not only shed the trend of ""who can put the weirdest noises into their albums,"" but can also build upon their past experiences and emerge with a very pleasant, professional record.
Yellow House is heavily indebted to soothing motifs, with wispy vocals satisfying blends of reasonable instrument experimentation that, unlike most indie bands' albums, can make even the stingiest of listeners appreciate the wonders of usually unpopular indie rock instruments (speaking particularly on behalf of the often misunderstood banjo).
The opening track entitled ""Easier"" enchants the listener with the incorporation of woodwinds and dreamy pianos that parts the seas for lead singer Christopher Bear's monotone chant. Already from the start, there is a much more polished sensibility about Yellow House; their days of dueling synthesizers have (hopefully) gone by the way side. For a change of pace, the following songs ""Lullabye"" and ""Central and Remote"" epitomize GB's vigorous attempt at formulating genuine ballads with five-plus minutes of powerful crescendos—something momentously different from what their loyal fans are used to.
The album cruises right along with easy listening tracks such as ""Little Brother,"" ""Marla"" and ""Reprise,"" which will, in due time, find their way into your favorite coffee shop. ""Colorado"" concludes the LP by portraying a fusion between old and new GB: By using a more artsy song structure that generates a genuinely powerful finale, ""Colorado"" exemplifies how future art albums should be closed.
Although Grizzly Bear is truly a great band, they will more than likely never fit the mold of the modern pop music band because there is no single song in their repertoire that could be considered a Top 10 hit.
Nevertheless, Yellow House is a beautiful album because each track plays a crucial role in the masterpiece, and to section the album into ""singles"" and ""fillers"" would be an insult to the band's hard work. So as some music enthusiasts look forward to another carbon copy of The Strokes, bands such as Grizzly Bear will continue to explore new avenues in music for the rest of us to enjoy.
