Ed says it best. From his Twitter:
EdwardDroste Never thought I’d say this, but we debuted in the top 10 US Billboard charts!!! #8!!! :)!!!! AHHHH (**excited**) http://tinyurl.com/py66oe
EdwardDroste This news should be immediately followed with a GIANT THANK YOU to everyone out there that bought the CD and supported us. THANKKKKUUUUUUUU!
Full story here.
If you are missing a booklet or a download card for the full album in your
vinyl please email usa@warprecords.com and we’ll make sure it gets to you!
If you did get a download card, please note there’s a typo on it, but it is good for the full album.
If you didn’t get a poster with your Insound order email kimberlyhelp@insound.com.
Grizzly Bear’s new album, Veckatimest, is now in stores and at your favorite online retailer. You can get it on CD, vinyl, or digital download. Pick it up and enjoy.
Athens, GA
Schoolkids
Mon, May 25 @ 6pm
Atlanta, GA
Criminal Records
Mon, May 25 @ 2PM
Austin, TX
Waterloo Records
Mon, May 25 @ 7PM
Baltimore, MD
Sound Garden
Mon, May 25 @ 1pm & 7pm
Bangor, ME
Bull Moose
Mon, May 25 @ 6PM
Baton Rouge, LA
Compact Disc Store
Mon, May 25 @ 6pm
Berkeley, CA
Amoeba Music
Mon, May 25 @ 6PM (chance to WIN Grizzly Bear tickets!)
Bloomington, IN
Landlocked Music
Mon, May 25 @ 6PM
Boise, ID
Record Exchange
Mon, May 25 @ 7PM
Boulder, CO
Bart’s CD Cellar (Value Music)
Mon, May 25 @ 8PM
Brooklyn, NY
Sound Fix Records
Mon, May 25
Brunswick, ME
Bull Moose
Mon, May 25 @ 6PM
Charlotte, NC
Manifest Disc (Value Music)
Mon, May 25 @ 8PM
Charlottesville, VA
Plan 9 Music
Mon, May 25 @ 6PM
Chicago, IL
Reckless
Mon, May 25 @ Rodan Bar
Cincinnati, OH
Shake It
Dallas, TX
Good Records
Mon, May 25 @ 7PM
Dayton, OH
Gem City (Value Music)
Mon, May 25 @ 8PM
Denver, CO
Twist & Shout
Mon, May 25 @ 4PM (w/ food)
Durham, NC
Offbeat Music
Mon, May 25 @ 6PM
Eugene, OR
CD World
Tues, May 26
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Radioactive Records
Mon, May 25 @ 5PM
Greenville, SC
Horizon Records
Mon, May 25 @ 6PM
Houston, TX
Cactus Music
Mon, May 25 (w/ food and beverages)
Indianapolis, IN
Luna Music
Mon, May 25 @ 6PM
Jacksonville, FL
CD Connection
Mon, May 25 @ 7pm
Las Vegas, NV
Zia Records
Mon, May 25
Lewiston, ME
Bull Moose
Mon, May 25 @ 6PM
Little Rock, AR
Been Around Records
Sat, May 23 (all day)
Long Beach, CA
Fingerprints
Mon, May 25 @ 7PM (w/ food and beverages)
Los Angeles, CA
Amoeba
Mon, May 25 @ 6PM (chance to WIN Grizzly Bear tickets!)
Los Angeles, CA
Origami Vinyl
Mon, May 25 @ 6PM (w/ food and beverages)
Louisville, KY
Ear X-tacy
Mon, May 25 @ 7PM
Madison, WI
Strictly Discs
Sun, May 24 (all day) & May 25 (1/2 day)
Miami, FL
Uncle Sam’s Music
Sat, May 23 @ 3PM
Milwaukee, WI
Exclusive Co.
Mon, May 25 (w/ food and beverages from 3–7PM)
Minneapolis, MN
Electric Fetus
Mon, May 25 @ 7PM
Missoula, MT
Ear Candy
Mon, May 25
Nashville, TN
Grimey’s
Mon, May 25 @ 6PM
New Orleans, LA
Mushroom
Mon, May 25 @ 8PM
New York, NY
Other Music
Mon, May 25
Newark, DE
Rainbow Records
Mon, May 25 @ 4PM
Norman, OK
Guestroom Records
Mon, May 25 @ 7-9PM
Norridge, IL
Rolling Stones
Mon, May 25
North Windham, ME
Bull Moose
Mon, May 25 @ 6PM
Oklahoma City, OK
Guestroom Records
Mon, May 25 @ 7-9PM
Omaha, NE
Homer’s Music
Mon, May 25 @ 3-6PM w/ Food
Orlando, FL
Park Ave CDs
Mon, May 25 @ 8PM
Oshkosh, WI
Exclusive Co.
Sat, May 23 (w/ food and beverages from 1–4PM)
Philadelphia, PA
AKA Music
May 25 @ 6PM
Phoenix, AZ
Stinkweeds
Mon, May 25 @ 7PM at The Lost Leaf in Phoenix
Portland, ME
Bull Moose
Mon, May 25 @ 6PM
Portland, OR
Music Millennium
Sun, May 24 @ 3PM (w/ giveaways, food, and beverages)
Portsmouth, NH
Bull Moose
Mon, May 25 @ 6PM
Raleigh, NC
Schoolkids
Mon, May 25 @ 7PM
Richmond, VA
Plan 9 Music
Mon, May 25 @ 6PM
Rochester, NY
Record Archive
Sun, May 24 @ 3PM
Sacramento, CA
R5 Productions
Mon, May 25 (w/ giveaways)
Salem, NH
Bull Moose
Mon, May 25 @ 6PM
San Francisco, CA
Amoeba
Mon, May 25 @ 6PM (chance to WIN Grizzly Bear tickets!)
Sanford, ME
Bull Moose
Mon, May 25 @ 6PM
Scarborough, ME
Bull Moose
Mon, May 25 @ 6PM
St. Louis, MO
Vintage Vinyl
Mon, May 25 @ 6PM (w/ food)
State College, PA
City Lights
Mon, May 25 @ 4PM
Syracuse, NY
Sound Garden
Mon, May 25 @ 6PM
Tallahassee, FL
Vinyl Fever
Mon, May 25 @ 8PM
Tampa, FL
Vinyl Fever
Mon, May 25
Tucson, AZ
Zia Records
Mon, May 25
University of Utah
Graywhale
Mon, May 25 @ 6PM
Utica, MI
Rock-a-Billy’s
Mon, May 25 @ 5PM
Waterville, ME
Bull Moose
Mon, May 25 @ 6PM
Williamsburg, VA
Plan 9 Music
Mon, May 25 @ 6PM
Winston-Salem, NC
Plan 9 Music
Mon, May 25 @ 6PM
Several independent record stores in the UK will also be celebrating the release of Veckatimest with a lunchtime listening session instore. The album will be played in full on Tuesday, May 26th at 1PM, alongside giveaways and of course your chance to buy the album!
Participating stores are:
Aberdeen
One Up
Brighton
Ape
Resident
Rounder
Cardiff
Spillers
Cheltenham
Rise
Glasgow
Monorail
Avalanche
Leeds
Jumbo
Leicester
Rock a Boom
Letchworth
David’s Music
London
Phonica
Rough Trade West
Rough Trade East
Sister Ray
Manchester
Piccadilly Records
Newcastle
RPM
Newport
Diverse Music
Preston
Action Records
Sheffield
Jacks
Taunton
Black Cat
Whitney
Rapture
Tonight (May 21st) WNYC’s 69th Annual Music Festival will feature an in-studio performance by Grizzly Bear. The broadcast starts at 7 PM. You can listen in and get more info at:
http://www.wnyc.org/music/amf2009.html
When you pre-order/purchase Veckatimest on vinyl, you’ll get a download code good for the MP3 download of the full album.
There was a typo in the download card indicating it’s only for “Two Weeks,” but it is for Veckatimest in full!
In the return of the GB blog, a note from Ed about the cancellation.
Head over to Newbury Comics and pre-order Veckatimest to get a limited-edition autographed CD booklet with purchase.
…it may well be the most successful [Grizzly Bear song], accomplishing everything it sets out to do.
Grizzly Bear released Yellow House in 2006. It was a slow, steady and stunning ride—boundless in scope and elegance. Given the album's otherworldly charm and staying power, it's hard to believe three years have gone by.
That might seem like a long time. But given Grizzly Bear's hectic touring schedule, including stints with Radiohead, TV On The Radio and Feist—as well as several performances during a five-night tribute to Paul Simon at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, a co-headlining show with the L.A. Philharmonic, and the release of Friend, a 10-song EP of re-recorded and re-worked songs, collaborations and covers—all of this seems very reasonable. They've been busy.
But about a year ago, singer/songwriter Ed Droste, drummer Christopher Bear, bassist Chris Taylor and singer/songwriter/guitarist Daniel Rossen —whose other band, Department of Eagles, released the sublime In Ear Park last fall—began passing demos around and working together creatively in different pairs and permutations. A few months later, blessed with producer/engineer Chris Taylor's willingness to transport his recording equipment, they began the recording process for Veckatimest, which would unfold over the next six months in three very singular locations. And in many ways, it is the recording process that reveals this record—each space catalyzing different interactions, inspirations, and ultimately, songs.
In July, the band spent three weeks at the Glen Tonche house in upstate New York. The beauty, mystery and surrealistic feel to the estate made anything seem do-able, possible and even magical. Though still finding their feet, much of the album's groundwork was laid there. After breaking briefly for the Radiohead tour in August, the band convened at a house on Cape Cod (graciously provided by Droste's grandmother) where they re-addressed and solidified the compositions they'd started at Glen Tonche. Lastly, Grizzly Bear came home, to a church in NYC, to fine-tune and complete the album—named Veckatimest, after a tiny, uninhabited island on Cape Cod that the band visited and was inspired by, particularly liking its Native American name. Following initial mixes by Chris Taylor, the band brought Gareth Jones (Interpol, Liars) over from England for a final mixing session with Taylor. The album was then mastered by Greg Calbi. Artist William O'Brien created Veckatimest's colorful, hand drawn artwork—a perfect compliment to the album's enigmatic title.
There is an unbelievable clarity of sound and vision to Veckatimest: vocals (a duty now shared by all band members) are sharper and more complex, arrangements are tighter, production is more venturous and lyrics more affecting. Having opened the creative dialogue at such an early stage, Grizzly Bear was able to realize these 12 songs together as a band, making it their most collaboratively compositional album to date. Taylor's artistry as a producer and engineer has only gotten stronger, both Rossen and Droste's conviction as singers and lyricists has swelled, and Bear's authority behind the drums is striking.
This yielded an unexpected mix of material that feels more confidant, mature, focused—and most of all, dynamic. From songs like "Dory" (a gracefully psychedelic, ever-evolving work),"Ready, Able" (a synth-y opus, and one of four songs that boasts string arrangements by composer Nico Muhly) and "Foreground" (a plaintive, vocal-driven send-off, and one of two songs to feature choral arrangements also by Muhly) to more resounding pop songs like "Two Weeks" (an other-worldly doo wop featuring backing vocals from Beach House's Victoria LeGrand) and "While You Wait For the Others" (a triumphant and melodically cacophonous pop masterpiece), Veckatimest is an album of the highest highs and lowest lows—an unbelievably diverse collection of songs that celebrates the strength of each band member, and the power of the whole. It was well worth the wait.
