Gig review: Grizzly Bear

Published on Wednesday 10 March 2010 18:09

GRIZZLY BEAR **** QUEEN'S HALL, EDINBURGH

"I FEEL so powerful right now," declared Grizzly Bear singer/guitarist Daniel Rossen in response to the good-natured shushing which spread like a virus round the Queen's Hall as his band prepared to play their encore – not so much as an act of reverence but a common agreement that this Brooklyn-based quartet are a group worth really listening to.

And there is a lot to listen to – soaring, soulful melodies, shimmering instrumentation, adding banjo and miniature harp to the more conventional guitar/keyboards/drums line-up, and especially their intricate harmonies which go way beyond your common-or-garden variety. Not all of their harmonic experiments sounded like they came off technically, but the overall effect was mesmerising.

Victoria Legrand of support band Beach House joined them for a couple of songs, though there was little she could do to embellish the already celestial sound.

Their bewitching music was complemented by the same ravishing lighting design they have been carting about on tour for the past year. Even here, Grizzly Bear do things a little differently, setting bulbs inside glass bottles and rigging them up on T-bars to illuminate sequentially or send out quickfire flashes of light.

As the shushing subsided for the final song, it was replaced by a spontaneous mass clap-along – not the most sophisticated response to such a beautiful sound, but still a disarming celebration of a unique band.