Veckatimest [45RPM Pink & Orange Vinyl]

Half-Speed Mastered by Barry Grint, Alchemy Mastering at AIR for VMP

Off the coast of Cape Cod lies a small uninhabited island called Veckatimest. The island is a physical space, but for the band Grizzly Bear, it is also a state of mind. Veckatimest is the name of the band’s third full-length record, originally released in 2009 on Warp Records. It is a stunning piece of music, one that catapulted what was once frontman Ed Droste’s bedroom project into something far grander and more publicly lauded than the band could’ve ever imagined.

Veckatimest represents a definitive, landmark sort of moment for indie rock. It moved a genre to the thing that was all the rage on blogs, to fertile grounds for pop and rap to reap from. Jay and Bey watching Grizzly Bear at a random show in Brooklyn eventually led to people like Ezra Koenig and Josh Tillman penning a track on Lemonade, and Chairlift’s Caroline Polachek on Beyoncé. Indie music, in other words, isn’t really the same thing that it once was. The summer of 2009, and Grizzly Bear, have a lot to do with that.