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More Info On Grizzly Bear's New Album, 'Shields'

20 July 2012 | 9:00 am | Staff Writer

Grizzly Bear have officially announced the release of their much anticipated 4th record, and they've finally titled it. It's called Shields.

Brooklyn folk rock four piece GRIZZLY BEAR have officially announced the release of their much anticipated fourth record, and they've finally titled it. It's called Shields.

Set to drop on the 14th of September through Warp Records, the group has also revealed the album artwork for Shields will be a colour aquatint print from American painter Richard Diebenkorn, part of his 1981 ‘Clubs and Spades’ series.

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Following their third record Veckatimest released in 2009, frontman Ed Droste said Shields is ‘very in-your-face’ with a lot of raw vocal takes, admitting that it’s ‘something we don’t normally do’. Even in a few songs where there’s only a single voice, you can hear the vocal cracks and imperfections, vastly different to the previously multi - layered and crafted voice of Grizzly Bear.

However this is not a bad thing. What’s produced is something that’s much more emotionally charged than past albums. We can hear grungy guitar melodies, bare male vocals, but done with such delicate precision. Lyrically the album is more verbose and meaningful, leading to something steeped in originality without losing that Grizzly Bear sound.

And if their first single ‘Sleeping Ute’ is anything to go by, we’ve got a serious record on our hands. It’s fantastically raw and folky, and almost unrecognisable from their stuff on Veckatimest. We’re guaranteed to see another side of the diverse Brooklyn group, that’s really very refreshing.

The release of this album could not have come at a more perfect time for Australian fans, with the group set to take to the stage as part of the Harvest Festival in mid - November.

Check out the tracklisting below:

1. Sleeping Ute

2. Speak In Rounds

3. Adelma

4. Yet Again

5. The Hunt

6. A Simple Answer

7. What’s Wrong

8. Gun-shy

9. Half Gate

10. Sun In Your Eyes

And if you are too eager for the album, you can pre-order it via iTunes.

Words by Edmund Kirkwood