Grizzly Bear - Shields
Critic Score
Based on 38 reviews
2012 Ratings: #96 / 1118
Year End Rank: #10
User Score
Based on 784 ratings
2012 Rank: #51
Liked by 60 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
God Is in the TV

This is not just any album; it is the best album of 2012 and quite possibly of many more years to come. Prepare yourself to be dazzled.

91
Pitchfork

Though full of baroque, detail-rich production and latticework melodies, Shields also offers an emotionally resonant core.

91
A.V. Club

Delicate beauty and refined presentation still rule on the Brooklyn mainstay’s fourth album, Shields, but the balance is subtly shifting.

91
Pretty Much Amazing

Shields works because of its complexity rather than in spite of it. 

90
musicOMH

This is an ensemble that seems to have reached a sort of pinnacle in collaboration and musical communication.

90
PopMatters

While Shields may mark a transition for the band in terms of the immediate emotional impact of their music, it is clear that they have not in any way abandoned their expansive approach to melody and song structure. 

90
American Songwriter

What’s most remarkable about Shields is not so much that Grizzly Bear have gotten more comfortable with ratcheting up the intensity, but rather that they’ve arrived upon a sound that’s louder and fuzzier while maintaining a uniquely ornate beauty.

90
Consequence of Sound

Shields growls and purrs in ways Grizzly Bear has never before.

85
Under the Radar

The album is filled with wonderful little moments that add up to create a remarkable whole. 

84
Paste

Though at time reaching heavenly heights, Shields is, as the name suggests, a heavy, protected album, stuffy with an ennui particular to the young and gifted.

80
Mojo
This brilliant, complex and surprising piece proves to be no exercise in getting to know them better.
80
Rolling Stone

With Shields, they still sound like Radiohead at a Buddhist retreat, but the songs are more muscular.

80
Clash

‘Shields’ is an engrossing, beautiful work which could only come from Grizzly Bear, and only at this point in their career. Stunning.

80
The Guardian

More often, it sounds as if Grizzly Bear have spent their time away digging out the emotions that sometimes get buried beneath the technical fireworks.

80
Uncut

If their painstaking studiocraft has in the past seemed over-refined or even fussy, here they’ve discovered a new wildness, a liberating sense of drama.

80
Time Out London

The complexity and jumpy qualities of the band's 2009 classic 'Veckatimest' have been replaced by smooth, rolling, road trip music.

80
The Arts Desk
This is a deeply striking calling card for Grizzly Bear in 2012.
80
Q Magazine

Shields is part spiralling indie rock, part wistful '60s pop.

80
SPIN

Beautiful as Grizzly Bear is, they remain an emotionally cloistered lover, willing only to speak in vagaries, never of concrete emotional needs.

80
Drowned in Sound

Any mention of Shields being slightly more up front and rougher around the edges is not to say that isn't still beautiful. 

80
AllMusic

While it's not as obviously big a statement as Veckatimest was, Shields is plenty ambitious in its own right, and its complexity demands and rewards patient listening.

80
The 405

The praise for this album must also be given to their ability to keep up their standard of timeless, mood-enhancing music.

80
The Fly

Though there are several tracks here that make for a less immediate listen, the record overfl ows with the tell-tale nuances of a band who have learnt how to translate grandiosity into something more restrained, yet no less forceful.

78
Beats Per Minute

Shields is both well-mannered and demanding, subdued but always bubbling under the surface. 

75
Prefix

Conservative ... describes Shields: Veckatimest authorized it to be far bolder. You yearn for what could’ve been.

70
No Ripcord

The hard work they put into Shields deserves recognition, even if it occasionally strikes as too labored and considered.

70
Crack Magazine

It feels a little unfair to criticise Grizzly Bear for producing what is essentially the definitive example of a sound they’ve been slowly perfecting over the last eight years, but unfortunately the accomplishment here is met with an unexpected level of predictability.

70
NME

For all the strange twists and turns, the rich layers and dark beauty to be found, nothing here grabs you and sets up home in your heart like ‘Veckatimest’ did. 

70
The Line of Best Fit

There’s more than enough here to interest the brain, the feet, and most things in between.

60
NOW Magazine

Shields is not going to grab you, but it rewards patience.

60
The Skinny

Shields might not quite leave the mark you may have been expecting once the dust settles, but unlike their previous albums’ predilection with time and place, it’s the journey rather than the destination that matters.

60
The Needle Drop

With Shields, the New York psych folk outfit Grizzly Bear makes a move toward subtlety, toning down some of the bright, poppy moments that made 2009's Veckatimest such a powerhouse.

60
The Observer

It's possible these greater levels of democracy have muddied Grizzly Bear's immediacy. It's more likely, though, that Shields is a grower.

60
Slant Magazine

Pretty but formless, Shields plays like a calculated retreat into something altogether indistinct and inconsequential.

SnowyFighter
87

That album cover would make for a cool looking shield

Wow this is my favorite Grizzly Bear album this thing thing is fantastic. I love the more indie rock direction (woah what a surpriseeee lmao) that they went into here. It just makes for some veryyyy catchy hooks and song structures. Sleeping Ute is an amazing opener. I especially love the guitar plucking at the end, it’s beautiful. Sun In Your Eyes serves as a fantastic closer, with it being the longest and most inventive song on the ... read more

JayCrackers
83

Toning the down more pop oriented sound from Veckatimest and going for a more subtle indie rock center sound was in my opinion a smart choice, for a record which is just as good as their previous effort with a more mature sound and lyrics. Shields, ultimately is a nice progression for Grizzly Bear showing how far they have matured as musicians.

Track Review

Sleeping Ute 9/10
Speak in Rounds 8.5/10.
Adelma 7/10
Yet Again 9.5/10
The Hunt 8/10
A Simple Answer 8.5/10.
What's Wrong ... read more

90

Shields is yet another example of Grizzly Bear conjuring up masterclasses in how to conform a great indie rock using extremely lush and delicate aesthetics, progressive structures and phenomenal storytelling and lyricism from both Ed Droste and Daniel Rossen. Although the album seems to be more up-tempo and having less drowsy or dark moments than that of Yellow House or even Veckatimest, this thing is packed with plenty of amazing tracks that focus on amazing musicianship as well as captivating ... read more

Spamman
65

“Dreamed a long day, just wandering a dream” is the first line of this album. It’s a pretty generic and empty line that does not bode well for the album.

The first song, “Sleeping Ute” is a bit of a mess, with this bombastic percussion consisting of three or so instruments that comes in at almost random points.
This is honestly the most note-able aspect of the song.

The foundation of “Speak In Rounds” is some rather uninteresting rhythm guitar ... read more

AKiepuszewski
84

Amazing spiritual sequel to Veckatimest that is not as fresh and spectacular, but still has some emotional moments that leave me hooked

Siberian
82

As the name implies, it feels protective of the album itself, but also I think they are tryna protect the audience. Warmful.

HIGHLIGHTS: SLEEPING UTE, YET AGAIN, GUN-SHY, HALF GATE, SUN IN YOUR EYES

WORST TRACK: THE HUNT

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Added on: July 9, 2012