Album Review: Grizzly Bear - Shields

How do you follow up an album that was received by many music fans as perfection? Do you endeavour to grow or stay the course? This is the question Grizzly Bear has faced since 2010's Veckatimest, an album so universal you could give it to your most pretentious friend and their nana and get the same rapturous response.

First single Sleeping Ute hinted at a departure, with its agitated lyrics and heavy guitar sounds, while second single Yet Again showcases an almost psychedelic, stadium-sized sound ready-made for the festival circuit. As an album, Shields is a more challenging listen; the production sounds slightly flatter, especially in the vocal, which makes it harder to get lost and wallow in the lush instrumentals. There's no 'instant indie movie soundtrack' song like Two Weeks here, the harmonies are more subtle and opportunities for singalongs almost non-existent.

There's an almost Kid A-ish quality to instrumental Adelma with its cold and spacious beauty. Not that the band have lost their talent for the uplifting, they still know how to put in a key change or a soaring harmony at the perfect moment to take your breath away. One such highlight is Half-Gate, which builds and ebbs with huge drums and an infectious air of furious excitement. Elsewhere there are weirder, more abrasive sounds: Gun Shy sounds like it belongs a funky sci-fi movie, while album closer Sun In Your Eyes bucks the trend with an upbeat, extended jam where previous albums would have closed with a delicately brooding come-down.

Grizzly Bear have always come at pop music from a different angle, and it's a relief to see that adulation hasn't changed this one bit.