Grizzly Bear On Their Breakthrough

Brooklyn stars look back

Brooklyn group Grizzly Bear have spoken about their breakthrough with ‘Veckatimest’.

Don’t look now but indie rock seems to be big news Stateside. On the Billboard charts this week lurk new releases from The Black Keys, LCD Soundsystem and more with plenty sitting just outside the Top Ten.

This wave of success was preceded by Grizzly Bear last year. The Brooklyn based cult heroes released ‘Veckatimest’ to widespread acclaim, with word of mouth pushing the album further up the charts.

Picked to soundtrack an advert during the Superbowl, Grizzly Bear found themselves exposed to a massive new audience. Speaking to The Guardian, the band explained that it could have been the success of Fleet Foxes which opened doors to their sound.

“They really revolutionised this picture” argued Daniel Rossen. “The fact that they’ve done so well here has actually made it easier for people to stomach what we do. Why should we mind?”

“I have this sense that people are aware that record sales are dwindling, so to show a band support they spend $9.99 on iTunes. There’s still hardly any bands, except for maybe Vampire Weekend, that are selling like Susan Boyle,” Ed Droste laughs, “but they’re selling enough to chart.”

Vampire Weekend recently topped the Billboard charts with their new album ‘Contra’ selling over 100,000 units in just one week.

Meanwhile, Grizzly Bear are preparing to perform at Glastonbury alongside a handful of UK headline shows. The shows are eagerly awaited, following on from orchestral dates last year.

However Ed Dorste admitted that those orchestral performances were not received as they had hoped. “It bums me out! That playing with an orchestra is perceived as a very grand thing to do, when I wish it was just perceived as like a fun, one-night thing. I thought it would introduce younger fans to different music, and perhaps bridge a gap between the generations.”

-
Join the Clash mailing list for up to the minute music, fashion and film news.