bears are nice

Ya know, in these wild times we live in, it's important to take a step back, sit around the campfire and pretend you’re a cowboy who longs for a place of sanctuary. Kick up your muddy foot covers, watch as your loved ones are all restin' up on your lap, take a load off if you will.... AND Oh hey, would you look at that, I have just the song!

"Southern Point" - Grizzly Bear, is this week's escape to another world song! Grizzly Bear was recently introduced to me by my co-worker, who is going through an American folk kick, and gosh diddily darn-it am I here for it. Grizzly Bear is a truly unique group, with a sound ranging from soft and slow balads to intense and chaotic soundscapes. I've really fell in love with them over the past couple weeks, and was heartbroken to find that the band is no more 😭 But! We can still enjoy what they've left behind.

The song begins with an inquisitive, up-tempo acoustic intro that introduces a central theme of mystery and sanctuary. There is a safe haven called the southern point that is calling to us. The intro creeps along, building a bit of tension until we reach a breaking point at the minute mark. Expectedly and out of nowhere (at the same time) the song opens up with a huge swirling/energetic feeling, the dynamics of the percussion driving the chaos forward. 

One of my favorite details is at this point of the song, if you listen closely, you can hear a backup singer with an extremely low voice sing a counter melody with the lead vocalist's lyrics. Or is it? It's super hard to tell because it both sounds like a voice and also a low register on the bass guitar that they're using for this song. Honestly, I don't know for sure and I love that!

Past the intro, which seems to be about a journey to find a place of safety, the lyrics become super cryptic:

"In the end, you'll never find me now

You'll never find, but I'll return to you

You'll never find, when you return to me"

Are they running from something? Or begrudgingly leaving someone important behind? This song continually wears the beauty of its chaotic nature on its sleeve, requiring nothing more from you than to appreciate the beauty in the chaos. In the last minute of the song, we return to a more orderly sound. The tempo never drops, and there is still a hint of the intensity from earlier, but subdued. This isn't the end of the journey, just the end of this part.

American folk is awesome, and this song is a perfect example of that. It's one of those fantastic songs that you can go back to, over and over and get something new each time you listen. I hope you like it, and I hope I was able to somewhat accurately capture how fun this song is!

Thanks for tuning in! Fresh Jorshie out!