Grizzly Bear – Yellow House

This entry was posted by jon on Wednesday, December 13th, 2006 at 10:59 am.

2006, Warp Records

There is a gorgeous Yellow House in my dreams.

In a field, it floats in a sea of grass- bobbing and drifting in hypnotic languor. Brooklyn’s Grizzly Bear have built this beautiful house, and they’ve invited you in for a listen. Wise listeners will accept the invitation.

The songs on Yellow House are like gentle, hushed rain that foretells the coming of a storm. Thunder threatens in the distance, but the storm rarely blows full force. The album is easy on the ears, but never degenerates into easy listening. Animal Collective, if they reined in their wilder impulses, might sound something like this.

Like benevolent visiting spirits, diverse instruments like banjo, mandolin, and violin float in and out of songs. The use of vocals as another instrument also adds to the album’s mesmeric quality. The songs flow into one another organically, but the album never becomes monotonous. The songwriting recalls several forefathers: White Album-era Beatles without the drug freak-outs, Elliot Smith and Nick Drake without the moroseness. It makes you want to lie down and dream (and live).

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