*Double 180gm Vinyl Pressing in a gatefold sleeve, includes download card redeemable from the label* "Few guitar bands capture the ethereal quite as well as Warp veterans Grizzly Bear, and while they might welcome comparisons with fellow New Yorkers The Dirty Projectors or revered post-rockers Tortoise they're pretty much unmistakable to listen to. `Shields' is a grandiose continuation of the themes explored on `Veckatimest', and keeps up the nauseatingly high production value too - again giving us the thought that there's not a snare out of place. What makes `Shields' so listenable though is not the silky, tape-saturated production (although that helps) - it's the songs, buoyed by Daniel Rossen's characteristically melancholy vocals. Just flip to `Yet Again', which sidesteps the usual Grizzly Bear complexity (hello `Sleeping Ute') in favour of good old-fashioned songwriting. This is the kind of writing that no doubt endears the band to their throng of famous fans (hey, when Jay-Z's singing your praises you've probably made it) and it's certainly the glue that holds `Shields' together.
