Grizzly Bear Painted Ruins *

3.5 stars out of 5 -- "The sound is still ornate -- on 'Glass Hillside,' nylon-string embroidery melts into gilded choirs, with oddball melodies recalling Brit proggers Soft Machine."
"Throughout the record, words are just pathways through which the melody travels from one sweep to the next..."
"[S]tealthy chamber-pop, meticulously pieced together by Messrs Droste, Rossen, Taylor and Bear, where the songs accumulated emotional heft with each listen."
"The album is full of anxiety and tension, stocked with woozy melodies that float atop precise rhythms and dramatically calibrated guitars; it foregrounds its attention to detail."
4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he elements of PAINTED RUINS suggest that nature is the best solace in crazy times."
Paste (magazine) - "Throughout 11 melancholy tracks, one can feel the end of the world looming. While some of the songs focus on basic tasks or chores, they seem to exist as a way to contend with the disarray of society, almost like meditations."
Clash (Magazine) - "Sinister shades of raw complexity tour the Brooklynites' fifth effort, from the slow crawl of 'Wasted Acres' to the glassy elegance of 'Three Rings'..."