But Shields serves as a visceral reminder of how unsettled and uncanny Grizzly Bear's music often feels. (Remember that superbly creepy video for 'Two Weeks,' full of smiles pulled tight enough to induce nightmares?) The pair of lead-off singles, 'Sleeping Ute' and ' Yet Again', each find a way of transcending the tension of 'putting on appearances,' one of Grizzly Bear's favorite themes.

The lyrics of the Droste-led 'Yet Again' detail repression and repose ('Take it all in stride/ Speak, don't confide'), which makes the payoff- a final minute of instrumental fury lead by the torrent of Chris Bear's percussion and the squiggling lightning strikes of Rossen's guitar- that much more cathartic. Dynamic shifts like this give the record an air of uncertainty that contrasts with the sheer beauty of the arrangements. They stand in a horizontal row on stage, and you get this sense of intra-band egalitarianism from their records, too.

By now, each of the four members has cultivated his own unique and expressive vocabulary, and each feels integral to the sound of Shields. Chris Bear's drumming is lyrical and swift, moving from delicately timed details to big, booming ruckuses (check out the way his percussive rumbles in the background of the verses of 'Yet Again' foreshadow its avalanche of a conclusion), while Chris Taylor's penchant for haunting effects and gently buoyant grooves adds an otherworldly weightlessness to these soundscapes. Droste's voice resounds with ache and longing, and there's a newfound and welcome gravel to his vocals that add a raw, unvarnished quality to songs like 'The Hunt' and 'Speaking in Rounds'.īut Shields showcases Rossen's growth most of all.

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