Yellow House

Performer: Grizzly Bear
Distributor: Redeye Music Distribution

Notes: This Brooklyn outfit's second album finds the former duo expanded to a quartet, widening its experimental horizons, and crafting a series of startlingly subtle, often lavish arrangements. Here, the lo-fi sound of 2004's HORN OF PLENTY has morphed into hushed, smoothly ambient textures, and Edward Droste's fragile vocals are augmented by homey-sounding banjo, percussion, woodwinds, and keyboards. Highlights in a set brimming with musical creativity are "Easier," a sunny, jaunty piece full of musical confidence; "Central and Remote," which adds a mellow sheen to its acoustic wide open spaces; and "Colorado," which fades into the sunset in a gorgeous blend of harmonious voices, piano, and chirping electronica.

Uncut (p.106) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "The production is more sophisticated, the arrangements more intricate, the melodies and harmonies more complex..." Magnet (p.93) - "[A] thing of rough-edged beauty.....HOUSE's structures are pretty loose, like meandering dirt paths that sometimes disappear under your feet but always reappear a few yards down the way." CMJ (p.38) - "Grizzly Bear's gift for swathing gorgeous melodies in layers of reverb and texture, well explored on their debut full-length, HORN OF PLENTY, is fully realized on their sophomore album."

This Brooklyn-based unit, originally devised as a one-person bedroom recording project by songwriter Edward Droste, purveys sleepy, diaphanous folktronica that cross-hatches acoustic and electronic instruments into pleasantly rambling stoner dreamscapes. In 2004 Droste brought in singer and multi-instrumentalist Christopher Bear to flesh out his recordings, and the Grizzly Bear franchise officially began. Their 2004 debut was regarded enthusiastically by the music press, and was re-released a year later with additional remixes by many of the celebrated mixmasters of the day. Their 2006 follow-up sported a full band line-up and a much more lush sound, while maintaining the kitchen-sink charm of their earlier work.

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