Grizzly Bear (with a capital G and B) are actually, as many of you may know, quite the opposite of adorable North American brown bear typically found in western North America.

They are Edward Droste (vocals, keyboards, omnichord), Daniel Rossen (vocals, guitar, banjo, keyboards), Chris Taylor (bass, backing vocals, various instruments, producer), and Christopher Bear (drums, backing vocals). And yes, their name is a nickname that Ed had for an old boyfriend of his.

According to the “Pitchfork, Stereogum, Rolling Stone and Consequence of Sound” type of music publications (which I’m not here to emulate in anyway, by the way): Psychedelic pop, folk rock, indie rock, folk rock, psychedelic folk, neo-psychedelia, psychedelic rock, experimental, experimental rock, art rock, and lo-fi.

Their first album, 2004’s Horn of Plenty, consisted of a unique mix of just Edward and Christopher’s sounds. It wasn’t until 2006 that they recorded their first record as a quartet: the critically-acclaimed Yellow House (which was aptly named after Edward’s mother’s house where it was recorded). He also admits that he dreaded the idea of being a solo act and that he felt that this music sounded better with a full band and that this when when they discovered their distinct sound.

It should be noted that 2008 was a particularly awesome year for this band. These four talented individuals got to open up for Radiohead (who actually loved their music) during the second leg of their tour of North America that summer. The success from this tour led them to retreat to Cape Cod, where their third album Vectatimest was conceived and completed in 2009. It received much praise from the press and Billboard as well.

Fast forward to 2012. The band took to the internet to showcase “Sleeping Ute,” a song from what came to be Shields, the band’s fourth album. They included a full tracklisting of the album along their tour dates for it and finally  released it on September 18th.

Grizzly Bear is scheduled to play right here in Miami on June 18 at The Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater.~ Hank Justice | Tropicult

Visit www.tropicult.com for more info on Grizzly Bear. Music, videos and ticket giveaways contest information!