In January this year, as the usual last-minute scramble for choice Sydney Festival tickets unravelled, a Brooklyn quartet's debut Australian visit became the sellout hot ticket.
Quite a coup, given the band's outsider indie status here and the fact they weren't just doing one Sydney show but four: three at the City Recital Hall and one at the Beck's Festival Bar. ''I know,'' Grizzly Bear's singer-guitarist, Ed Droste, agrees. ''We're so excited to come back. I couldn't believe we did four nights - that was pretty wild.''
Reactions to the band's Sydney performances came hot on the heels of SMH music critic Bernard Zuel naming Grizzly Bear's
Veckatimest 2009's album of the year. Zuel's end-of-year list wasn't the only one to be headed by
Veckatimest but he did nail the band's appeal in his summation: ''Like going to church and a trippy weekend at the same time, Grizzly Bear left the likes of Fleet Foxes and Radiohead in awe.''
Radiohead were, in fact, so smitten by Grizzly Bear they'd already invited them to open a North American tour. Yet the connections between the two groups don't end there. When asked who he'd most like to sing with, Droste lists Radiohead and Bjork. Describing a band's sound is always difficult - especially one doing something different. Radiohead provide a good starting point. Within Grizzly's harmony-heavy palette of psychedelic pop, art rock and folk balladeering, there are also threads of contemporaries Animal Collective, Bon Iver and Beach House. You might also hear fragments of classic albums by the Beach Boys, the Band, the Beatles and Kevin Ayers.
So, with all the hype but only six months since their last visit to Sydney, can Grizzly top expectations this month? What will be different on this tour? ''Some better lighting?'' Droste offers. Apparently they have more this time. Droste's chipper tone and easy chatter is at odds with his dark, heavy-lidded countenance and weighted singing style. On record he often sounds angelic.
The band may also sing an older song, one ''we haven't played for years''. For that, they'll have to look to 2004's debut LP, Horn of Plenty, 2006's Yellow House or a couple of bridging EPs. As for hopes of new material to give Sydney audiences a preview of Veckatimest's follow-up: ''We haven't written anything new yet,'' Droste admits. ''We've been so busy with festivals and touring. ''We're all so focused on putting on good shows … The whole side of the brain that works on writing new material just doesn't turn on until we're all at home in a mellow zone and everyone gets back into that sort of energy.'' That doesn't mean Droste resents the touring. Far from it. ''There's kind of a divide,'' he says of writing versus touring. ''They're such different processes and experiences and the songs are what connect the two, essentially. I don't think any of us would want to write every single day of the year. I love writing music - don't get me wrong - but I would miss touring, travelling, playing for people and performing. ''It really strikes a good balance for me personally … [but], basically, the longer we tour, the longer it's going to take us to put out a new album.''
In the meantime, during the short breaks at home that dissect the ''hopscotching between here, Europe and all over the States'', Droste is a big consumer of other people's music. ''You know, I just discovered today Tame Impala from Australia,'' he says. ''My mind has been blown. I haven't stopped listening to them. I'm having a 24-hour session [with their album InnerSpeaker] that I think is going to last much longer. It took me by surprise, how unbelievably amazing it is.''
And, despite the American band's name, nobody thought to give any of them a cuddly memento on their last visit here. ''No one gave us a stuffed koala bear,'' Droste says, incredulous. ''Maybe you can put the word out.''
Paris Pompor