Damn, the production on Shields is some really good shit. As pristine as a mysophobic‘s sanctuary, and also the mysophobic is stoned. Every note on Shields has a bulbous sound, shimmering and rippling like air bubbles to create melody sequences that coolly glide on like an autumn breeze. You can’t tell what any of these guys are singing about, but it’s so soft and under such pretty textures that it just has to be something profound. Even if only because it’s as profound as the person imagining it, like yours truly.

Three monster-quality tracks (“Sleeping Ute,” “Yet Again,” “Gun-Shy”) overshadow a bunch of decent filler where Daniel Rossen’s eyes slowly and nervously look for anyone caught on to their hoping that their sonic solution covers for the absence of distinctive melodies. No Grizzly Bear album is well-rounded, but Shields comes closest. For the first time, its peaks are worth traversing an album for, especially since they’re tactfully spread out.