This music isn’t meant to be contorted, and that’s perhaps why Nicolas Jaar’s remix of “Sleeping Ute” is so effectual, because it’s barely a ‘remix’ as such. There’s hope when Ed Droste’s fragile, sonorous lilt interjects about half way through, but it’s still markedly unfamiliar. The Lindstrom remix of “Gun-Shy” is a complete mutation of the original, with its fundamental facets obscured by inordinate bleeps and prosaic repetition. Here, the three remixes are decidedly hit-or-miss. There’s modifying the original effectively and then there’s metamorphosing the songs to a point in which they become unrecognisable. The trouble with remixes is that they can often sound like redundant fillers. Elsewhere “Will Calls” takes us somewhere new, as it wrestles between soft soporific moments and proliferating urgency. Hints of the same experimental sonic palettes of Ed Droste’s home-recorded Horn of Plenty are evinced in the organic, esoteric noises that creep into “Listen and Wait”, while the initially sparse “Smothering Green” feels like a throwback to somewhere between Veckatimest and Yellow House, with Daniel Rossen’s afflicted vocals underpinning sweeping crescendos and emphatic instrumentation. The bonus tracks often hark back to an earlier time in Grizzly Bear’s career.
Shields: B-Sides takes the best of these Marfa demos, which turn out to be outright, omitted gems rather than unwanted scraps. After a somewhat discouraging recording session, none of the demos made the final record. Maybe this is down to the geographical context of the album before the band reconvened in Cape Cod and New York City for the official album tracking sessions, the three demos featured on this edition were recorded in Marfa, Texas, along with roughly 17 other recordings. Not because they aren’t good enough, but because they would feel out of place the tone, the pace, the general feel of these tracks don’t pertain to the same tumultuous aesthetic of Shields, though they remain similarly complex and intricate. Think of these tracks as lost songs, despite how easy it is to see why they were forgone on the original.
People can be skeptic around the concept of “expanded” deluxe” or “special” additions, particularly when the album is barely a year old, but Grizzly Bear are an exception to the rule.The “expanded edition” contains the original album along with a second disc containing eight B-sides, remixes and demos, but those already in possession of Shields can just buy Shields B-Sides on 12″ vinyl or download it digitally.Īlong with the re-release of last year’s critically lauded album is simply a deeper insight into the record. That’s why it’s the previously unheard tracks, and not the remixes, that makes this Special Edition of Shields actually special. Every microscopic detail counts, even the spaces between the notes are important. Their music is characterised by unexpected turns, peaks and shifts in pace the juxtaposition between loud and quiet. What appeals most about Grizzly Bear is their predilection for sound, for depth and visceral impact.