Classic Review: Gossamer - Passion Pit and Shields - Grizzly Bear
9.8/10
9.5/10
NOTE: Due to the length and detail of this review, I am counting it as two reviews. Also, if we are being honest, I am running low on time to finish these. Live with it.
Background: Grizzly Bear and Passion Pit are two similar bands that also couldn't be more different. Both East-coast bands are fronted by an incredibly stylish gay man. Both write some of the most beautifully melodic love songs in modern music. Both are critical darlings, although Grizzly Bear more so than Passion Pit. Both also put out the two most remarkable pop albums of 2012. This is where the similarities stop. Sonically, the two couldn't be any further apart. Grizzly Bear specializes in a psychedelic brand of baroque pop, heavy on strings, complex harmonies, and clean guitars. Meanwhile, Passion Pit's music is more akin to walking into a candy store. Passion Pit's music is full of incredibly bright synthesizers, dance beats, and sickeningly catchy melodies, leading to a deliriously happy and upbeat sound. Their music is basically the sonic equivalent of the color hot pink, while Grizzly Bear represents a deep brown with some green thrown in there, maybe a little grey as well. Lyrically, Grizzly Bear sings sad songs, but the lyrics are inflected with a hint of happiness, a sign of hope on the horizon. Passion Pit, however, writes incredibly bright songs with lyrics about depression, addiction, mental illness, and heartbreak. So obviously, these bands being complete opposites and while I am desperately running out of time to finish my reviews before their due date, I have decided to challenge myself and write an entire dual review comparing and contrasting this two albums. Both of these albums came out during my freshman year of high school and were favorites of mine at the time. I don't know how your freshman year went, but mine featured a lot of embarrassment, changes, and personal reflection as I figured out how to not be a terrible person. These albums were essentially the soundtrack to that transformation and have been some of the only albums that I still listen to four years later.
Review: Oddly enough, both albums open with the most commercially successful song on the album. Shields begins with "Sleeping Ute" while Gossamer gets out of the gate with "Take A Walk." "Sleeping Ute" is not Grizzly Bear's biggest song, but it is undoubtedly one of their best. This song works in sudden stops and starts, with each line in the verse exploding into a noisy wall of guitars, drums, and pianos. Like a ship in a storm, this song bucks in all different directions as it attempts to throw the listener off. The ultra precise drumming (that dude's anti-disco poster really bothers me) really sets the tone here, as it is the first (and loudest) instrument to explode after each line. "Take A Walk" is also a drum led track, but less so than its Grizzly Bear counterpart. The pounding staccato bass drum during the main riff is absolutely crushing and is one of the heaviest drums I have heard in an electronic recording. If you listen to this track, you will probably recognize at least a part of it from just about every commercial in modern memory (or so it feels), which is slightly ironic given that the lyrics tell a devastating tale about the crushing consequences of capitalism. This is by far and away Passion Pit's biggest hit, yet is one of my least favorite songs on the album. On any other record this might be the best song on the album, yet it does not do much to stand out here. I'll give this battle to Grizzly Bear here.
The next song from each record is one of the most upbeat on each, with Grizzly Bear bringing "Speak In Rounds" to the table, while Passion Pit brings "I'll Be Alright." Passion Pit wins this one by a large margin, as "I'll Be Alright" is one of the best pop songs written in the 2010s, while "Speak In Rounds" is just a great song. "I'll Be Alright" is an absolute heartbreaker, with Michael Angelakos' lyrics describing a failed relationship and the subsequent fall out. This song best illustrates the dichotomy present in nearly all Gossamer-era Passion Pit songs: the contrast between the dark, self loathing lyrics, the bright, electronic instrumentals, and the RIDICULOUSLY catchy melodies. This song refuses to leave your head after even just a single listen, and is not even the catchiest track here. "Speak In Rounds" just pales in comparison to the sheer energy of "I'll Be Alright" (to be fair, most songs would). "Speak In Rounds" sounds like a Fleet Foxes song in the best way, featuring muted drumming and lots of loose acoustic guitar strumming. Similarly to "Sleeping Ute" this song moves in waves (that is a fantastic album cover), but this time is is more in ebbs and flows than violent crashing tempests. After "Speak In Rounds" comes a gorgeous one minute long interlude called "Adelma" that I am counting as part of "Speak In Rounds" for the sake of this review.
It is really a shame that "Yet Again" has to be the next song on Shields, because the next song on Gossamer is "Carried Away." The song that introduced me to this album, "Carried Away" is my favorite pop song of all time. I have spent my years of listening to music in search of a song that will replicate the feeling I got the first time I listened to "Carried Away." I am also yet to find anybody else who loves that song as much as I do. For some reason this song just pushes all the right buttons in my brain. One listen can put this song in my head for days on end. On top of that, the music video is incredible. I refuse to simply sit here and describe this song, so I strongly recommend that you just go out and listen to it. On the other hand is Grizzly Bear's wonderful song "Yet Again." Along with boasting some of the coolest single art I've ever seen, "Yet Again" is a masterfully constructed rock song. This song, much like "Carried Away" is high energy, exciting, and endlessly catchy. The drumming is again the star here, with drummer Christopher Bear pounding away at his kit in order to keep time for the band. Much like "Sleeping Ute" the song is lead by the cadence set by the drums, and Bear's playing is inhumanly precise. The electric guitar playing is also quite prominent here, and adds a much needed crunch to the song. At the end, "Yet Again" disintegrates into a psychedelic mess of feedback, distortion, and more brilliant drumming. Both songs are truly remarkable pieces of music, but the edge must be given to Passion Pit.
Both songs that feature next are the ballads of the album, and both are gorgeous melodically and compositionally. "Constant Conversations" is a beautiful piece of white soul, while "The Hunt" features Grizzly Bear's typical baroque production and possible the most beautiful melody of the album. Both tracks are somber affairs, but "Constant Conversations" is more akin to a drunken slow dance, while "The Hunt" could be the work of a man, alone in a bar, stepping up to a piano and playing for his audience of none. The vocal melody in the chorus is the star of both songs, with Grizzly Bear's catchy revolving melody and Passion Pit's falsetto reassurances both lodging themselves deeply in the listener's head - as well as their heart. Objectively, I have to call the songs equals, although in my head I have to say I prefer "Constant Conversations."
The next song for Passion Pit is the blistering "Mirrored Sea." This song takes off like a rocket, with pounding synths and drums. The lyrics deal with guilt, but the instrumental is as brash and unashamed as possible. Grizzly Bear's next song is "A Simple Answer," which would have made a great Fiona Apple song. The piano's seems to shift around as the drums comfortably gallop away. This song features one of the best vocal melodies of the album, and there are some synths here that wouldn't sound too out of place on Gossamer. Both songs are far from the best on their respective album but are endlessly enjoyable at the same time. Picking a winner here is nearly impossible.
For the sake of an even track list, I am going to fuse the next two Passion Pit songs, "Cry Like a Ghost" and "On My Way." Both of these songs feature some fairly strange production for Passion Pit, with the massive sub bass explosions of "Cry Like a Ghost" and the horns on "On My Way." The latter track is a strange sort of electronic soul, while "Ghost" is perhaps the most glitchy and electronic song on the album. Both songs live for their chorus, especially "Ghost," which really takes off in terms of scale when the verse ends. Meanwhile, Grizzly Bear sits back with the relatively quiet "What's Wrong." This song is a more ambient affair than the past few tracks, and is actually fairly boring. The call and response vocals are interesting, but other than that there is not much to say. Passion Pit's double team proves too much for Grizzly Bear's ambient experiment.
Passion Pit comes out swinging again, with the tense epic "Hideaway." The drums drive this song at a breakneck pace, and the verse melodies are immaculate. The song is truly an exhilarating listen. Grizzly Bear's response is the subdued "Gun-Shy." The tracks are quite opposite, as "Gun-Shy" is a beautiful slice of psychedelic folk. It moves slowly and derives its beauty from the effect-heavy guitars in the background. The change about 1:50 in is absolutely gorgeous and masterfully handled. The preference of song in this battle depends on the listener's mood; one is an exercise in bright immediacy, while the other is a subtle, queasy track worth appreciating over multiple listens. After "Hideaway" comes a short interlude that I am skipping over because it is less than a minute long.
The next song on Shields is certainly one that takes a bit of patience. "Half Gate" spends most of its time building, with Christopher Bear tapping on his snare drum as the rest of the band keeps time. The key change from major to minor in the verses are gorgeous, yet it is quite apparent that the band is still holding back. Harmonies and guitar build in and the song breaks from a quick walk to a jog. The drumming begins to get a little more ambitious and free form as the harmonies grow more complex and strings begin to accentuate the song. Finally the song begins to take off as ominous strings meet the growingly hectic drumming. The song then dies back down for a little to show off some remarkably beautiful strings, and then builds up for an even-more-explosive-than-the-first second climax. "Half Gate" is truly a roller coaster ride of a song as it pulls the listener up and down through the drumming and strings. Again, for the sake of continuity, the next two Passion Pit songs must be grouped together. "Love Is Greed" is, on the surface, the most obnoxiously happy song of the entire album. The lyrics however, reveal a much darker meaning, discussing how love is actually just seeking to cease their loneliness. It is a dark sentiment delivered in a strikingly beautiful melody and a bright instrumental. "It's Not My Fault, I'm Happy" sounds like a logical progression from "Hideaway" with its thumping bass drum and epic chorus. Both are as well written and produced as they are catchy. Call it a draw, although I know deep down Passion Pit's duo are much easier to listen on a regular basis than the grand "Half Gate."
The closing tracks to both albums are quite similar, or as similar as two incredibly different songs can be. Passion Pit's "Where We Belong" begins with some weeping strings, arpegiated synthesizers, and bright bells before dropping into a quiet, tense kick drum beat. Lyrics describing two lovers convincing each other into a bathtub suicide commence before Angelakos' falsetto pierces the beat. The lovers then proceed to kill themselves, their spirits leaving the crimson tub, and then the bone chilling line, in perfect falsetto: "Who says that God exists?" as the lovers ascend into heaven. It is a truly chilling and remarkable tracks, which ends with a controlled meltdown from every instrument. "Sun In Your Eyes" is remarkably similar, with its quiet verses and monumental chorus. The song opens with a whisper, yet the chorus hits like a semi truck. The walls of synthesizers, as well as a guitar so deep that it sounds like a horn section, compliment the explosive drumming and the soaring vocals. It is an immense song that fully deserves it's seven minute run time and feels much shorter. The advantage has to be given to Grizzly Bear here, although Passion Pit certainly gave it a good run.
Upon first listen, these are two albums that could not be further apart. Passion Pit's hectic happiness is in sharp contrast to Grizzly Bear's subdued beauty. One is instantly accessible and begs to be played on repeat (each song on Gossamer has over one hundred plays in my iTunes), while the other takes close inspection and repeated listening to fully enjoy. Yet, upon closer inspection, the albums are more similar than then initially appear. They are structured relatively the same, and deal with many of the same concepts. They are both impeccably produced (Grizzly Bear wins this battle, however naturally I am a bigger fan of the Passion Pit's genre) and their melodies are some of the catchiest around (Passion Pit wins this one; this is the catchiest record I have ever heard). I think the most telling fact about the day each album was released. Gossamer was released on July 20th, while Shields came out on September 18th. I do not think it was an accident that each record label decided to release a blindingly bright, poppy indie pop record in the middle of summer, while the dark, subtle pop record was saved for the beginning of fall. These seasons are perfect representations of each album, as well as the contrast between the two. Just as summer leads into fall and winter, these two albums represent logical progressions from one another.
HIGHPOINTS: All of Gossamer, all of Shields minus "What's Wrong"
LOWPOINTS: "What's Wrong"
RECOMMENDED ALBUMS: Helplessness Blues - Fleet Foxes, Destroyer's Rubies - Destroyer, Merriweather Post Pavilion - Animal Collective
The next song on Shields is certainly one that takes a bit of patience. "Half Gate" spends most of its time building, with Christopher Bear tapping on his snare drum as the rest of the band keeps time. The key change from major to minor in the verses are gorgeous, yet it is quite apparent that the band is still holding back. Harmonies and guitar build in and the song breaks from a quick walk to a jog. The drumming begins to get a little more ambitious and free form as the harmonies grow more complex and strings begin to accentuate the song. Finally the song begins to take off as ominous strings meet the growingly hectic drumming. The song then dies back down for a little to show off some remarkably beautiful strings, and then builds up for an even-more-explosive-than-the-first second climax. "Half Gate" is truly a roller coaster ride of a song as it pulls the listener up and down through the drumming and strings. Again, for the sake of continuity, the next two Passion Pit songs must be grouped together. "Love Is Greed" is, on the surface, the most obnoxiously happy song of the entire album. The lyrics however, reveal a much darker meaning, discussing how love is actually just seeking to cease their loneliness. It is a dark sentiment delivered in a strikingly beautiful melody and a bright instrumental. "It's Not My Fault, I'm Happy" sounds like a logical progression from "Hideaway" with its thumping bass drum and epic chorus. Both are as well written and produced as they are catchy. Call it a draw, although I know deep down Passion Pit's duo are much easier to listen on a regular basis than the grand "Half Gate."
The closing tracks to both albums are quite similar, or as similar as two incredibly different songs can be. Passion Pit's "Where We Belong" begins with some weeping strings, arpegiated synthesizers, and bright bells before dropping into a quiet, tense kick drum beat. Lyrics describing two lovers convincing each other into a bathtub suicide commence before Angelakos' falsetto pierces the beat. The lovers then proceed to kill themselves, their spirits leaving the crimson tub, and then the bone chilling line, in perfect falsetto: "Who says that God exists?" as the lovers ascend into heaven. It is a truly chilling and remarkable tracks, which ends with a controlled meltdown from every instrument. "Sun In Your Eyes" is remarkably similar, with its quiet verses and monumental chorus. The song opens with a whisper, yet the chorus hits like a semi truck. The walls of synthesizers, as well as a guitar so deep that it sounds like a horn section, compliment the explosive drumming and the soaring vocals. It is an immense song that fully deserves it's seven minute run time and feels much shorter. The advantage has to be given to Grizzly Bear here, although Passion Pit certainly gave it a good run.
Upon first listen, these are two albums that could not be further apart. Passion Pit's hectic happiness is in sharp contrast to Grizzly Bear's subdued beauty. One is instantly accessible and begs to be played on repeat (each song on Gossamer has over one hundred plays in my iTunes), while the other takes close inspection and repeated listening to fully enjoy. Yet, upon closer inspection, the albums are more similar than then initially appear. They are structured relatively the same, and deal with many of the same concepts. They are both impeccably produced (Grizzly Bear wins this battle, however naturally I am a bigger fan of the Passion Pit's genre) and their melodies are some of the catchiest around (Passion Pit wins this one; this is the catchiest record I have ever heard). I think the most telling fact about the day each album was released. Gossamer was released on July 20th, while Shields came out on September 18th. I do not think it was an accident that each record label decided to release a blindingly bright, poppy indie pop record in the middle of summer, while the dark, subtle pop record was saved for the beginning of fall. These seasons are perfect representations of each album, as well as the contrast between the two. Just as summer leads into fall and winter, these two albums represent logical progressions from one another.
HIGHPOINTS: All of Gossamer, all of Shields minus "What's Wrong"
LOWPOINTS: "What's Wrong"
RECOMMENDED ALBUMS: Helplessness Blues - Fleet Foxes, Destroyer's Rubies - Destroyer, Merriweather Post Pavilion - Animal Collective
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