CD Review – Shields, Grizzly Bear

I had no real intentions to discover what Dan Auerbach’s hypothetical indie folk band would sound like, but alas, here we are. Most of the Grizzly Bear’s Shields sounds cavernous and spacey with the reverb added to seemingly everything. It’s pretty straight forward indie-folk, but some of the synth lines get really weird and cacophonous. With that said, the lead track, “Sleeping Ute” is definitely worth a listen.

Notwithstanding, interest in the album was generally hard to maintain between the first track and the eighth, “Gun-Shy”. A few interesting moments come about in the album’s closing track, “Sun in Your Eyes”, as well, but throughout Shields, songs seem to just happen; the album may have a single, unified aesthetic, but it seems to lack focus and arguably the biggest thing that keeps listeners interested — solid hooks. None of it’s particularly bad, but Shields just seems to carry on haphazardly. Everything is a seven out of ten. Remarks on songs like “A Simple Answer” would be something along the lines of, “Oh, that’s nice”, but there’s nothing to really get excited over. If you’re looking for music that’s striking — the kind of music that, for one reason or another, sends a chill down your spine and effloresces throughout your limbs, well, your search continues.

Paul Bogdan
A&C Editor