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My main conversation partner in musical discussions, especially regarding the current state of the scene, is my lawyer Michele. I want to clarify that I am neither Tronchetti-Provera nor Cesare Previti, so his being a lawyer is secondary to him being, first and foremost, a friend.
But as they say, opportunity makes the thief, and if you are a thief, having a lawyer by your side can be quite useful. In our recent musical opinion exchanges, we noticed how once (not so long ago), an emerging band was doing well if it artistically surpassed the threshold of the second album, while now, if it goes well, it lasts at most the length of the first album. A world of musical meteors, “made to fade”, as they say in English.
The Grizzly Bear are a typical example of what is written above. A good band, with a captivating and, if we want, particular musical proposition, but that can't finish the lap and stops to catch their breath just a few meters from the finish line. Released by Warp (now less and less a label symbol of avant-garde electronics), "Yellow House" hides small pearls, but often hidden by dark and sleepy corners, much like the dimly lit album cover foreshadows.
Yet the album starts excellently, stringing together three songs one better than the other. In these moments, Grizzly Bear recalls the ecstatic Mercury Rev of “Deserter Songs”, especially “Easier” with that celestial xylophone. “Lullabye” chases “Pet Sounds”-like vocalizations with less grandeur and a semi-martial accompaniment. “Knife” is the perfect bedroom pop song, but with an enviable instrumental setup. Precisely the variety of instrumentation is the added value of the work; among glockenspiel, banjo, strings, and various brass, the solutions are never predictable. But paradoxically, the listen becomes quite homogeneous or worse, homogenizing. A sense of too much perfectionism pervades the celestial choruses of "Central And Remote", “Marla” can both move and make you yawn, and “Colorado” lasts twice as long as it should, often going in circles. To be honest, “On A Neck On A Spit”, with its pastoral lullaby, and “Plans”, with that Morricone-like whistling on the porch, possess undeniable charm, but the problem stated at the beginning remains.
Will we end up sifting through the bottoms of rivers in search of gold nuggets lost in the tracklists of millions of albums, or will we patiently wait for a miracle that will change the fate of today’s musical landscape?
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
01 Easier (03:43)
I know, I know,
The doors won't close,
The pipes all froze,
Just let it go
Argue with me,
I've got plenty of dishes and time,
Cords in a bind,
Knots that we make,
Fatal mistakes,
Let's recreate an easier time
Because I still can't find you
02 Lullabye (05:14)
Glass of gin and a folding chair
Sitting out by the wading pool, chlorine blue
Rush of wind passing over me
Restless nights
Chin up, cheer up
My love's another kind
03 Knife (05:14)
I want you to know
when i look in your eyes
with every blow
comes another lie
you think it's alright
you think it's alright
you think it's alright
you think it's alright
can't you feel the knife?
can't you feel the knife?
can't you feel the knife?
can't you feel the knife?
04 Central and Remote (04:54)
In the wind, in the yoke, my ride will go
Central, remote, any further and I'll know
Pressing matters bear
Through trials and time, I keep my feet right in line for flight so we never recognize
Pressing matters bear, anable wear and tear on you, tear on you
Remind me
Tear on you, wear on you
08 On a Neck, on a Spit (05:46)
My messenger in disguise
makes up for such short goodbyes.
You can't come home again.
Each time it's different.
And the yards around your feet fall away while you're asleep.
Each day, spend it with me now.
Each day, spend it with me now.
Each day, spend it with me now.
All my time, spend it with me now.
But each day spend it with you now.
Each day spend it with you now.
All my time, spend it with you now.
All my time, spend it with you now.
But each day spend it with you now.
Each day spend it with you now.
All my time, spend it with you now.
All my time, spend it with you now.
But out here, no one can hear me,
Out here no one can hear me,
Out here no one can hear me
Each day spend it with you now.
Each day spend it with you now.
All my time, spend it with you now.
All my time, spend it with you now.
But out here, no one can hear me,
Out here no one can hear me,
Out here no one can hear me
09 Reprise (03:19)
My love's another kind
From the first morning light, I can follow along, chance to stumble and find, what turns out to be wrong
And my love's another kind
From the top, children yell
You can't talk to me now
You can search for a while, when you're rumbling around
10 Colorado (06:13)
When I clung to you
There was nothing to
Hold on tight with
You left me adrift
Colorado…
What now…
Colorado
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