By: David Schultz

David Lynch built his reputation on the art of presenting idyllic scenes of mundane suburban bliss that teems with an undercurrent of mysterious seedy menace. If the idiosyncratic director was searching for a house band for his unsettling cinema verite, he need look no further than Grizzly Bear. Like Lynch's owls, the Brooklyn-based quartet's relaxing, ethereal melodies aren't always as peaceful as they seem. This past week, Grizzly Bear returned to their home base of New York City for a pair of midweek shows at the Bowery Ballroom, enrapturing two sold-out crowds that swayed in tune with the hypnotic lull generated by the lo-fi foursome

For a band whose latest album appeared in the top 10 of many in-the-know critics' lists, Grizzly Bear hardly seems like a band drunk on their own success. Many "indie" bands will bombard you with sound; Grizzly Bear seems to bask in the quiet, drawing you in quite easily with their simple but deep melodies. Rather than force themselves upon you, Grizzly Bear goes leisurely about their business making you feel comfortable in their space. Their simplicity is striking, nearly to their detriment. The band's deliberately slow pacing, deftly captured on Yellow House, gives their material a warm, inviting nature that could initially be mistaken for plodding or psych-folk meandering. Listening to Yellow House, you might be puzzled; listening to Grizzly Bear live, it all makes sense.

Lined up across the stage with guitarists Ed Droste and Daniel Rossen in the center, Grizzly Bear adroitly moved through an hour long set that perfectly suited the late hour. In addition to the autoharp and recorder passages, a good number of the ghostly melodies originate with Droste. Along with Rossen, he handled the majority of the airy vocals, although drummer Christopher Bear and Chris Taylor, who fiddled around with various electronics and the odd woodwind, join in to create the band's lush four part harmonies. Grizzly Bear doesn't rush through any of their material, patiently letting each song unfold. Over the course of the set, they hardly wasted a note.

The songs are soft but not precociously delicate. Rather their peaceful vibe gives a misleading veneer to the unsettling, oftentimes disturbing lyrics being softly crooned over the precise atmospheric instruments. With razor sharp simplicity, Grizzly Bear gets to the point: "On A Neck, On A Spit" deals with the ever changing dynamic that can degrade a relationship, "Colorado" becomes a metaphor for a lover adrift and the lilting "Knife" is little more than a slightly ambiguous threat to a disloyal lover. They encapsulated their surreal dichotomy in their cover of The Crystals' 1963 misstep "He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss)." Wrapping the surreal misconception of spousal abuse for affection in soaring melodies, they brought the misguidedly written tune out of the realm of shunned obscurity into an appropriate ironic context.

With simple chords that reverberate naturally, Rossen guides "Knife" and "Colorado" into measured, controlled outbursts that seem volcanic in comparison to the breezy, opening verses. Instead of keeping simple time on the drums, which given the purposeful pacing of the songs, might be the only the option, Bear (a coincidence) plays with an agility that keeps things interesting and fresh. The two paired up nicely for an encore of "Deep Blue Sea," a tune derived from an American folk song and adapted nicely into the Grizzly Bear motif.

Mainstream success doesn't seem to be an attainable goal for Grizzly Bear; their sound doesn't have that tincture of appeal that's going to catch on a grand scale, but then again neither did the Velvet Underground. However, discerning listeners that find them and make the effort to understand what they are trying to accomplish are going to be fans for life. Pink Floyd built a storied career on material enjoyed just as much in the quiet of one's mind as in a stadium setting. In their early stages, Grizzly Bear are showing that they have the ability to create a modern day version of Obscured By Clouds and might possibly have a Dark Side Of The Moon lurking somewhere within them.

Labels: Grizzly Bear