Grizzly Bear Changes Things Up
<i>Friend</i> gives reworked songs, covers and a few guest apperances
Grizzly Bear
Friend
Released on Nov 30, -0001
Grizzly Bear's newest release, Friend is a collection of reworked material from the early recordings of the band (which would only span three years and two albums). Friend also features a cover of the 1962 released "He Hit Me," a song that has been a staple in the Grizzly Bear live show, along with covers of Grizzly Bear songs by CSS, Band of Horses and Atlas Sound.
If it weren't for the odd and out of place covers by other bands, Friend could have passed as a seven song EP that would be the perfect antidote for anyone that was sick of waiting for the follow up to Yellow House. The reworked songs couldn't be better. "Little Brother" goes electric, and is possibly the best song that Grizzly Bear has recorded, while "Alligator" (a song on their 2004 release, Horn of Plenty) becomes beefier, featuring cymbal crashes, in and out piano and a guest vocal spot by Beirut's Zach Condon, all while adding 4 more minutes to the previous one minute and thirty second version.
The reworks are where Friend is at its best; but it's possible that Grizzly Bear should have left the camaraderie at the door, because the covers by other bands are, for lack of a better word, terrible. CSS turns "Knife" into a joke, while Band of Horses takes away all the charm that "Plans" had ?gone is the eerie whistling, replaced by a banjo that sounds like it belongs on a children's show. Atlas Sound makes a somewhat respectable cover of "Knife," but only because it didn't really change that much; it just became a little creepier.
Anything done by Grizzly Bear on this album is purely enjoyable, and seems to give every indication that their next album will be as fantastic as everyone is anticipating. Friend shows off where Grizzly Bear has been and where they seem to be going, while giving kudos to the people that helped get them there. A solid album, sans the three covers.High Point
Low Point
Posted by Wes Soltis on Nov 13, 2007 @ 12:00 am