Two Weeks Until "Two Weeks" (Release Date 5/26)

Melodious

The first thing that strikes you about Ed Droste on Horn of Plenty is that Grizzly Bear is quite the misnomer. There is nothing heavy or intimidating about his music. Instead, all HoP's songs have a gauzy quality that goes beyond mere preciousness. The songs are adamantly lo-fi and Droste's musical ambitions seem small; Horn of Plenty is an exercise in romantic weary. It explores the inertia (and force of will) that leaves you rooted to something beautifully and terribly imperfect. As Droste sings on "Alligator," "It's no use, give it up / this is life and this is love." It's clear that acquiescence, specifically faint acceptance, is the only solution he sees.

A few vestiges of HoP's polite compliance remain on the standout track on Grizzly Bear's new album, "Two Weeks." But, that mainly extends to the unsure and tangled syntax of Droste's lyrics ("Would you always / maybe sometime / make it easy /take your time"). Amid the cocksure cadence of the piano line and surefooted canter of the snares and bass, the lyrics apologetically take their place, like the last man on a crowded subway. But, Droste is not merely accepting any more, he's (tortuously, tentatively) seeking more, as is Grizzly Bear.

Download:
Grizzly Bear: Two Weeks

PS - Will someone mash "Two Weeks" up with "Forgot About Dre" already.