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Avg: 4.0 (1192 ratings)
- Date Released: January 1, 2006
- Genre: Alternative/Punk
- Style: Alternative
- Label: Warp Records
Gorgeous, pastoral folk mini-suites made with widescreen imagination
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We Say...
Grizzly Bear's second album Yellow House made big waves when it was released in 2006 but, curiously, nothing about it rates as immediately striking. The songs are long and laconic, slow and dirge-like, laced with the kinds of identifying marks that seem to privilege a sense of mystery over mission or melody.
All of that, however, is precisely what gives Yellow House its impressive staying power. "Easier" starts the album off with a brief snatch of flutes and horns, which herald the entry of gently rolling parlor piano and some studiously picked acoustic guitar — all the makings of a decorous folk sound that scans as too meticulous to class exactly as "freak folk." Don't be fooled, though: Grizzly Bear is plenty strange. The smeary harmonies draped over "Lullabye" and the ghostly reverb of "Knife" suggest the kind of songs barely remembered from dreams (or, in the case of the latter, movies by David Lynch). And all the peculiar excesses of Grizzly Bear's ornate sense of craft evoke the totally strange Van Dyke Parks, whose work on the Beach Boys' Smile and his own albums like Song Cycle always seems close at hand. It's the kind of music that you might have trouble remembering until the time comes, as it magically does, when you can't quite manage to forget. -
They Say...
On their second album (and Warp debut), Yellow House, Grizzly Bear takes a dramatic leap forward, delivering a collection of songs that sound awe-inspiringly huge and intimate at the same time. While the album is overall more polished and focused than their debut, nowhere is this (literally) clearer than in Yellow House's production. Though the artful lo-fi approach Grizzly Bear used on Horn of Plenty -- which sounded like it was recorded on tapes that had been moldering away in musty cupboards, or gradually dissolving underwater -- was extremely evocative in its own way, Yellow House's warmth, clarity, and symphonic depth gives Grizzly Bear's widescreen psychedelic folk-rock a timelessness that makes it seem even more dreamlike and unique. The album's structure and songwriting are much more focused, too, even though many of the tracks hover around five to six minutes long. Instead of presenting their experiments as fragments and snippets, as they did on Horn of Plenty, on Yellow House Grizzly Bear incorporates their ideas into pieces with natural, suite-like movements. "Central and Remote" moves seamlessly from fragile marimba melodies to acoustic guitar-driven verses and towering choruses. The best moments not only have a natural sound, but conjure up nature imagery as well: "Easier" opens the album with a gently exciting buildup of woodwinds, banjo, and acoustic guitar that could soundtrack the dawn of a late summer morning, while "Colorado" closes Yellow House with wide expanses of vocal harmonies and mountainous tympani. In between, there's more majestic beauty to be found, particularly on the gorgeously hazy love song "Knife," which combines lush Beach Boys harmonies with a little bit of the Velvet Underground's chugging cool. Elsewhere, "Plans" feels like a more brooding take on the High Llamas' intricate, symphonic/electronic pop, while "On a Neck, on a Spit" recalls Jim O'Rourke's freewheeling deconstruction of folk-rock and soft rock. However, these similarities feel more like allegiances than tracing over the work of these artists -- Yellow House is a beautiful album in its own right, and required listening not just for fans of Horn of Plenty, but for anyone who enjoys ambitious, creative music with an emotional undercurrent.
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| 01. |  |
Easier |
3:43 |
|
| 02. | |
Lullabye |
5:14 |
|
| 03. | |
Knife |
5:14 |
|
| 04. | |
Central and Remote |
4:54 |
|
| 05. | |
Little Brother |
6:24 |
|
| 06. | |
Plans |
4:16 |
|
| 07. | |
Marla |
4:56 |
|
| 08. | |
On a Neck, On a Spit |
5:46 |
|
| 09. | |
Reprise |
3:19 |
|
| 10. | |
Colorado |
6:14 |
|
10 Total Tracks, 50:00 Total Length
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Credits
- Chris Coady - Mixing // Owen Pallett - Strings // Owen Pallett - String Arrangements // Christopher Bear - Drums // Christopher Bear - Glockenspiel // Christopher Bear - Vocals // Christopher Bear - Xylophone // Christopher Bear - Lap Steel Guitar // Christopher Bear - Group Member // Edward Droste - Guitar // Edward Droste - Autoharp // Edward Droste - Keyboards // Edward Droste - Vocals // Edward Droste - Group Member // Patryce Bak - Photography // Daniel Rossen - Banjo // Daniel Rossen - Guitar // Daniel Rossen - Piano // Daniel Rossen - Autoharp // Daniel Rossen - Vocals // Daniel Rossen - Group Member // John Marshman - Strings // Ben Tousley - Design // Chris Taylor - Bass // Chris Taylor - Clarinet // Chris Taylor - Flute // Chris Taylor - Keyboards // Chris Taylor - Saxophone // Chris Taylor - Vocals // Chris Taylor - Producer // Chris Taylor - Engineer // Chris Taylor - Mixing // Chris Taylor - Electronics // Chris Taylor - Treatments // G. Lucas Crane - Tape
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