Painted Ruins
by Grizzly Bear

Although a little inconsistent after the first half of the album, this one still holds up with the rest of Grizzly Bear's discography, and lays out easily some of my all-time favorite songs.

Favorite tracks: Losing All Sense, Three Rings, Mourning Sound, Neighbors

Some very good highlights here, but there's also a lot more forgettable material here than is normally the case for a Grizzly Bear album. Missing a lot of the bluegrass feel of Shields, but it retains almost everything else, so you might still find something you like here if that wasn't your vibe.

Was a little bit disappointed compared to their other stuff, but it's still good. Maybe I need to listen to it more to get into it.

I think this is a good go-between of Shields and Veckatimest. I feel like their instrumentation has expanded more and more with each album as has their ability to create space and tension in their songs. Funny thing is, I don't think this improvement in production will hinder their ability to perform these songs live. They're one of the more underrated bands of the last decade and are both auteuristic and still in touch with their roots. Though Systole is the weakest on the album, it's still pretty good. Just lacks a bit of background tones, like "gun-shy" on Shields.

From Cargusbralem 01/31/2018 18:06 | #206910

I don't get why Cut-Out and Glass Hillside have a score under 80 here! Very enjoyable album overall.

Pretty awesome record

From junodog4 10/22/2017 01:58 | #199910

Lovely album with a lovely sound, but nothing as memorable as their previous work.

From Vatsal 09/07/2017 06:21 | #197419 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

Definitely in the top 5 albums released this year!

From SleepDealer 08/29/2017 13:31 | #196896

For me this is a step up from Shields. Thoroughly enjoyable and consistent.

The music sounds tighter, less loose than previous records although it isn't quite as memorable. The songs do grow on you over a period of time and it's still growing on me. I still don't know whether it's as good as, Yellow house, or, Veckatamist, but it's certainly different. Sounding less rustic and more polished than ever, Painted ruins, is a slow burner that has still yet to hit me completely. A totally intriguing album and still potentially their best record. Not yet though.