GRIZZLY BEAR: SHIELDS

GENRE: CHOIR POP FOR THE BROKEN HEARTED
VERDICT: BRING TISSUES/DANCING SHOES
LABEL: WARP RECORDS
RELEASE: 9.18.12

Call me a sap, but it’s the sad tracks that sell this album for me. Sure, many will side with the naysayers who write this band’s music off as a sham of self-indulgent, hipster-oriented oversensitivity drenched in reverb. If that’s your predisposition, this album may induce more vomit than the last few.

My answer to you is: “Shuddup, leave me alone.”

But for those of us unafraid to feel, this album hits the spot. We sad-sacks turn on “Half-Gate” and hear, “It feels as if there’s no time at all / Nothing left to win / Every pleasure burned to the wind / I tend to be alone,” blended with whimsical guitars, subtle synths, and distant drums and can’t help but conjure thoughts of our ex-girlfriend, our commitment issues, and that time we ruined the moment by failing to maintain an erection. “What’s Wrong” hurts real good too. We wipe our tears and think, Grizzly Bear gets me.

Maybe they do, or maybe they’ve tricked us into thinking they do. I, for one, am okay with either.

GRIZZLY  BEAR

SATURDAY 9.22.12
ORPHEUM THEATRE
1 HAMILTON PLACE
BOSTON
8PM/$33.50
@GRIZZLYBEAR
ORPHEUMTHEATREBOSTON.COM
GRIZZLY-BEAR.NET