Grizzly Bear
Photo: Community Media Center
Grizzly Bear is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002. The band consists of Edward Droste, Daniel Rossen, Chris Taylor, and Christopher Bear. Their sound has been categorized as psychedelic pop, folk rock, and experimental. It is dominated by the use of vocal harmonies.
Grizzly Bear has 5 studio albums. These include Horn of Plenty (2004), Yellow House (2006), Veckatimest (2009), Shields (2012), and Painted Ruins (2017)
Albums
1. Horn of Plenty – Grizzly Bear began as a moniker for songwriter Ed Droste’s music in the early 2000s. The band started as a solo project, but that changed shortly thereafter. The decision to turn Grizzly Bear into a full band made the lead singer “quite happy to relinquish the idea of being a solo artist.” He absolutely hated the idea of performing alone.
2. Yellow House – Their first record as a quartet and to feature material written by Rossen, Yellow House, was released on Warp Records in September 2006. The album was named for and recorded at Droste’s mother’s house. It was ranked as one of the top albums of 2006 by The New York Times and Pitchfork Media. The hidden track on this album, “Alligator” was a collaboration with another indie sensation, The Dirty Projectors.
3. Veckatimest – Upon release of their third studio album it didn’t take long to reach the No. 8 on the US Billboard 200 chart. Chris Bear has noted that compared to Yellow House, Veckatimest was more of an accessible pop record. He said: “I think that it’s kinda clearer, clearer equals more accessible.”
4. Shields – Described as the band’s most collaborative album, Sheilds was produced by Chris Taylor . Vocalist and guitarist Daniel Rossen noted, “[The band’s aim was to] write and make music that is as collaborative as possible, so that we have a product that we all feel a sense of authorship over as a collective.”
5. Painted Ruins – After a 5 year hiatus, Grizzly Bear returned just this year with their fifth studio album. Painted Ruins has received acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, the album has an average score of 83 out of 100, which indicates “universal acclaim” based on 27 reviews.
