On the band’s new record Painted Ruins there’s a deep warmth, a flirtatiousness to the sonic ideas, and a sense of playfulness that’s perhaps the most surprising of all. It’s a direct reflection of the joy the band had experienced while making it. It chimes with collective exhales, and the genuine love that came from reuniting with old friends.
“You forget that you have this great thing going on with us, even though it can be really difficult,” says vocalist, Ed Droste. “When we finally got together it felt like there was a musical chemistry that was as real as it was when we were kids. That was thrilling in a way that was still the case,” adds guitarist, Daniel Rossen. You could almost say that the band’s propensity to chuck lots of ideas at the wall to see which ones stuck was the closest an established act can get to tapping into that energy that exists while recording a debut.
Painted Ruins isn’t a passing pleasure, it’s a body of work intended to be lived in. Its psychedelic grooves, challenging composition and pensive lyrics require repeated listens and develop significance, attachment and deep-rooted appreciation over time. That said it strays from getting too intense or introspective.
Some of the tracks take on a more personal bent. The likes of Wasted Acres and Neighbors, the former of which is about Rossen’s life in upstate New York. “That tune started as a simple and direct lyric about collecting firewood with my dog,” says Rossen. Four Cypresses, on the other hand, with its refrain of “it’s chaos but it works” is more political, though the band would prefer to keep the overtones less explicit.
Grizzly Bear Australian Tour
Adelaide – 6-7 Mar 2018 – Riverbank Palais
Melbourne – 9 Mar 2018 – Melbourne Zoo
Goldconda – 10 Mar 2018 – A Fest Called Panama
Meredith – 11 Mar 2018 – Golden Plains
Sydney – 12 Mar 2018 – Sydney Opera House
Brisbane – 14 Mar 2018 – QPAC
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