Gig review: Grizzly Bear - Barrowland, Glasgow

By FIONA SHEPHERD
Published on 22/10/2012 02:33

Fresh from turning in one of the most ravishing performances of recent times on Later With Jools Holland, Brooklyn quartet Grizzly Bear continued to demonstrate what makes them such a special group with this lovely and at times magical performance, which pivoted on the two contrasting frontmen.

Grizzly Bear

Barrowland, Glasgow

* * * *

Ed Droste is the charming MC figure – with the Scottish relatives, as he was only too happy to remind his audience – to whom the eyes are drawn and who led on transcendent new single Yet Again. But it is the more reticent Daniel Rossen who will break your heart with the plaintive tone of his voice.

On this outing, their efforts were supplemented by a mysterious fifth member who played keyboards with his back to the audience and baseball cap firmly pulled down until he was invited to take a deserved bow.

Arguably, this unit are at their strongest when they harmonise. One of the more welcome developments from the US indie scene in recent years has been the return of vocal harmony. While Fleet Foxes own the Crosby, Stills & Nash patent, Grizzly Bear come at their arrangements from a more offbeat angle, creating the seductive cascading effect of their most popular number, Two Weeks.

Sadly, some of their sophistication was lost due to the lack of amplification in one of Chris Taylor’s microphones, so while his bass playing and harmonies shone through, all his considerable efforts on clarinet and saxophone were inaudible until the encore.