Focusing on a single track from Grizzly Bear's Veckatimest isn't easy. From the soaring high of "Two Weeks" to the toned-down "Foreground," the songs on the band's third studio album mesh together so effectively that the strength of the record in many ways surpasses the impact of any single song.
The Brooklyn-based group boasts a large, full-bodied sound that benefits from no short supply of vocal talent. Only one band member, Christopher Bear, doesn't contribute heavily to the vocals, while the remaining three excel at crafting gorgeous three-part harmonies. With the help of a plunky piano riff and layered melodies reminiscent of The Beach Boys, the buoyant "Two Weeks" functions as one of the disc's most accessible and delightfully hook-drenched songs.
Appropriate for an album named after a small, uninhabited island, Veckatimest sounds at once lushly orchestrated and a bit wild: For all its warmth, something mysterious and sinister lurks beneath its calm surface. "Two Weeks" may sound upbeat, but take a look at its creepy video, in which a bizarre source of light slowly possesses Grizzly Bear's members, causing their facial expressions to behave in disturbing ways. Paired with string arrangements and ethereal vocals, that sinister side makes for a song — and an album — that's as disquieting as it is dynamic.
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