Grizzly Bear – ‘Shields: Expanded’

To be granted access to Grizzly Bear’s demos and cast-offs on this new edition of fourth album ‘Shields’ naturally adds to the magic

As a band built on the authenticity of their background noises – the creak of rafter, the squeak of chair, the scuttle of woodlouse across glockenspiel – to be granted access to Grizzly Bear’s demos and cast-offs on this new edition of fourth album ‘Shields’ naturally adds to the magic, as if you’ve snuck upon a dusty trunk in their loft. And sure enough, while the Nicolas Jaar, Liars and Lindstrøm remixes add synthetic space to ‘Sleeping Ute’, ‘A Simple Answer’ and a Daft-ly disco ‘Gun-Shy’ respectively, it’s the fragile new tracks ‘Smothering Green’ (a muted, modernist Cole Porter clatter), ‘Taken Down’ (falsetto Fleet Foxes) and the two versions of ‘Everyone I Know’ (one churchy, one space-jazz meltdown renamed ‘Will Calls (Marfa Demo)’) that are the real treasures here.

Mark Beaumont

You May Also Like

Advertisement

TRENDING

Advertisement

More Stories