Grizzly Bear - Friend EP

There are so many superlatives that have already been used before to describe Grizzly Bear’s sound: it’s aesthetically rich and substantial, it’s built around the foundation of four stellar musicians that all take turns singing, playing melodies, delivering harmonies and in the end, they create a truly gorgeous sound. I remember hearing Yellow House and being amazed at its dark palette of colors, that although their music was definitely never ‘bright,’ it was surely colorful. The Friend EP is something they did before Veckatimest came along and it features a few originals by the band, a few covers by the band and a few covers of their music by other bands. I’ve been reminded of them a lot this past week in finding someone else that also loves them, plus Blue Valentine was a terrific movie to see last night and the music in it is 90% Grizzly Bear.

For fun, here is CSS’ cover of “Knife” in its electronically-infused, poppy sheen. It’s cool to hear such depressing lyrics in this upbeat manner:


I’m still not entirely sure on the story behind “Deep Blue Sea” but I’m pretty sure it’s a cover of an old traditional song. I imagine it probably sounds entirely different to the one on Friend. I was gonna post that one here (and say some flowery stuff about how its simplistic nature leads to subtle and stunning beauty) but I can only find the version that’s found on the Dark Was the Night compilation. And they aren’t that different but well, they’re dissimilar for sure, either way here’s that one because it’s still a lovely song:


And so Blue Valentine ends with the choir version of “Alligator,” the same version used on Friend. It’s a downright classical blend of swirling instruments and voices that turn into a huge cascade of sounds. I think the fact that it’s so disjointed and never really in focus is what makes it that much more endearing and then suddenly, when it explodes and the beat kicks in, everything sounds just right. They’ve got such a knack for finding the perfect balance in their music that even when they’re singing “You are my alligator” over and over, it sounds sublime. – Bryan