Personnel: Daniel Rossen (vocals, guitar, cello, piano, synthesizer); Christopher Bear (vocals, lap steel guitar, Wurlitzer organ, synthesizer, drums, drum machine, percussion); Chris Taylor (vocals, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone, synthesizer, drum machine); Edward Droste (vocals); Tatum Greenblatt (trumpet, flugelhorn); Louis Shwadron (French horn); Nat Baldwin (upright bass).
After being launched into popularity by 2009's Veckatimest, Brooklyn's Grizzly Bear took some time to collect themselves, exploring side projects rather than jumping right back into the studio, with Chris Taylor exploring a more electronic sound with his solo project, CANT, while Daniel Rossen released an EP, Silent Hour/Golden Mile. Three years later, with the band refreshed and ready to go, Grizzly Bear make their return with the dreamy and psychedelic Shields, which finds the band once again leaving New York to record outside the chaos of the city. Less focused on layered vocals, the album has a more open sound than its predecessors, as exemplified by the album's first single, "Sleeping Ute," which feels like it has more breathing room than the more ornately orchestrated production of their previous work.
Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (p.74) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "With SHIELDS, they still sound like Radiohead at a Buddhist retreat, but the songs are more muscular, increasingly driven by drummer Christopher Bear's innate swing."
Billboard (p.44) - "There's a certain fragility, both lyrically and musically, that gives SHIELDS its character."
Q (Magazine) (p.102) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[C]loser 'Sun In Your Eyes' is evocative stuff. Tapping into Pink Floyd, it spotlights how Grizzly Bear are now reaching for greatness."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.82) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Grizzly Bear's new sound is revealed to have expanded in all directions. It's poppier, darker, louder, quieter and a heroically creative album..."
Paste (magazine) - "These songs are labyrinths. Ethereal, harmonic, beautiful..."
