I’ll start off by admitting I wasn’t a big fan of Grizzly Bear’s 2009 release, Veckatimest. And I know, I know, “It was really good,” “What’s wrong with you,” blahblahblah. BUT, I will say this. Their latest release, Shields, is really, really good. Excellent in fact – so good it makes me believe I must have missed something in Veckatimest, and it is time for a re-evaluation. Shields has got a really fantastic new-age psychedelic sound to it that warbles and wobbles but truly adds another unique and interesting album to the group’s repertoire. The culmination of fuzzy guitar, lead singer Edward Droste’s pretty and wandering voice, as well as sheer ingenuity creates an exciting audio atmosphere to listen to. As a listener who was reluctant to give in to this band, I admit I was wrong. This album was finally completed after a series of “processes of eliminations” for the band. After an initial recording session in Texas, they ended up scrapping a lot of material and replaced it with material recorded in Cape Cod six months later. And while trying to fill in the gaps of songs with tricks from the past, they challenged themselves to come up with new sounds and patterns. All things considered, this is a good album – really, a Pitchfork wet dream. (Warp Records, warp.net/) Victoria King