The pivotal Grizzly Bear member's debut solo album familiarly has the warmly inviting singing and guitar playing that ventures into complex and sometimes difficult to digest territory. You Belong There should please the hardcore fans that champion Daniel Rossen as one of the best singer songwriters to come out of the mid 2000s indie boom.
As a pivotal member within Grizzly Bear as a guitarist, singer and songwriter along with being one half of the duo Department of Eagles, Daniel Rossen is one of mid-2000s indie's best and brightest minds. The last time we've really heard Rossen in a solo capacity aside from the occasional single was a decade ago with his Silent Hour / Golden Mile EP, a collection of tight and rich songs that echo like a darkened solitary canyon. What has seemed like a century ago since then, Daniel Rossen has (finally!) arrived with his first debut solo album. It also feels like forever ago since we've last heard from Grizzly Bear. Since founder Ed Droste has essential left the music industry, the future of Grizzly Bear isn't really imminent in the foreseeable future, so a new Rossen solo release might be the closest thing we'll ever get to having new "Grizzly Bear" music for the time being.
Released on the legendary Warp Records (just like the majority of Grizzly Bear's own output), You Belong There features the familiarly strong, tightly knit guitar picking with intricately masterful production that you will typically hear on a solo or Rossen-led Grizzly Bear song. Without knowing any better, any fan listening to this album would probably guess that it came out in 2008, 2010 or 2013 perhaps. That's not a bad thing by any stretch; Daniel Rossen's beautifully eerie singing and warmly inviting guitar playing hasn't exactly changed all that much since the early days of Grizzly Bear or Department of Eagles. The production itself is similar to that of his prior EP as if it was recorded directly from a cabin in the woods in a homemade and DIY way. The instrumentation mainly features Rossen's spacious harmonies, classic grand piano keys, sprawling jazzy percussion, standup bass and acoustic finger picking where Rossen's fingers go a mile a minute. What stands out the most about You Belong There is Rossen's continued attention to detail and his ability to record pretty much the entire album by himself, learning new instruments along with getting help from Grizzly Bear bandmate Chris Bear.
The lead single "Shadow In the Frame" is a marvelous highlight on the album and is one of Rossen's best songs to date. The progressions throughout the track are epic and has many ups and downs throughout its five minute runtime. "Unpeopled Space," another standout single, features some of Rossen's most complex guitar chords and passages I've ever heard from him. It's amazing that it's only Rossen playing the guitar rather than two or three people at once. Seeing him play it live is another crazy feat... which I luckily did earlier this year. The groove and rising harmonies on "It's a Passage" is probably the most "upbeat" you're going to get on the whole album. The album's title track has a very creepy intensity to that of a dark avant jazz cut which I like. "Tangle" has these repetitively spiraling piano keys and although I think it's pretty cool, it does get a bit old after you hear most of the song. "I'll Wait for Your Visit" has a great progression with the guitar, percussion and harmonies but I do think a few minutes could be cut from its seven minute runtime. The ambient synths washing over the instrumental of "Keeper and Kin" provides a nice change of pace to the album's instrumental palette.
What typically stands out about a Daniel Rossen solo work compared to Grizzly Bear are the instrumental passages and lack of sticky hooks that make it much more difficult to digest. You Belong There is a more patience testing record to get into than Veckatimest or Shields. Though its standout moments are pretty stellar like singles "Shadow In the Frame" and "Unpeopled Space," I still don't find enough standout moments for me to return to this album that often, unless it grows on me. I think You Belong There is a solid record but when listening still months after its initial release, I kind of want to delve back into my favorite Grizzly Bear or Department of Eagles moments instead (even his 2012 EP). Despite this and despite the difficult listen, You Belong There should please the hardcore fans that champion Daniel Rossen as one of the best singer songwriters to come out of the mid 2000s indie boom. The production and finer details are immaculate enough to come back to even when you have to be in a certain mood to do so. Still criminally underrated as an artist and musician when compared to some of the heavyweights within the genre, Rossen finally has gotten his due as a solo artist in a full length capacity. Let's just hope he doesn't take this long to come back with a new album next time around.
My Rating: 7 / 10
Favorite Songs: "Shadow In the Frame," "It's a Passage," "I'll Wait for Your Visit," "Unpeopled Space," "Repeat the Pattern"
留言