Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest by Derek Miller
June 10th, 2009
A former associate editor at Stylus, Derek Miller currently contributes to Resident Advisor. While he does reside in the northern country, he should not be confused with this febrile impostor.
You’re tired of reading about this one. I understand. Like many of you, I feel like I burned out on this before I’d really heard it. Maybe you were sick of all the web chatter and hysterics before its release date—May 26th, a day that’s hard to attach to how long we’ve been living with THE NEXT GRIZZLY BEAR RECORD. I had to put that 128 leak away; I began to feel like I was searching for errors in a third-rate Gauguin reproduction (later: there are fucking woodwinds on this record???). Grizzly Bear’s Veckatimest—this most divisive of near-masterpieces or testaments to indie pretension. Perspective. Rarely are indie records received in such diametrical opposition. Do you know anyone who kind of likes Veckatimest? On the other hand, I’ve heard critics I know and trust use terms like ‘loathe’ privately. Loathe? This? Fuck. Have you heard the Dirty Projectors’ latest Afro-tinged opus? That’s a record I could understand feeling some negative passion toward—that glassbreak screech. Otherwise, let’s save the loathing for big-world things: the Freddie Mac boys and the Bernie Madoffs.
