You Belong There

Daniel Rossen doesnt release music on his own frequently, but when he does, its special. He recorded his 2012 EP Golden Hour/Silent Mile by himself when those songs wouldnt fit on a Grizzly Bear album, while 2022s You Belong There was made largely in solitude due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. As on Golden Hour/Silent Mile, Rossen sounds liberated, not constrained, on his first solo full-length. In the best possible way, he sounds freed from expectations, and to say that the album sounds like a natural extension of his work downplays how exciting it is. You Belong There blends the darkly winding melodies of flamenco and Middle Eastern music, the wide dynamic range of modern composition, the pastoral sparkle of early-70s symphonic folk, and the challenging, ever-changing song structures of Grizzly Bear albums like Shields. That Rossen created most of this stunning instrumentation on his own -- even learning how to play the clarinet that flutters through each of its tracks -- is impressive, but the passion he brings to You Belong There is even more so. The album feels more nimble and less guarded than Grizzly Bears later albums, and the momentum of Rossens playing and compositions dont get tangled up in their complexity. "Its a Passage" sets the tone for the rest of You Belong There, with sweeping, shimmering guitar work and Rossens immediately recognizable, vibrato-heavy vocals creating a ghostly, desert-like atmosphere complemented perfectly by Grizzly Bear drummer Chris Bears intuitive rhythms. Even as he grapples with life and all its changes on songs such as "The Last One," the commitment Rossen brings to his twisting, shifting songs makes them worth following, whether they take the shape of "Shadow in the Frame"s sienna landscapes or the unearthly union of cosmic synths and bustling acoustic guitars on "Keeper and Kin." An old-school album meant to be listened to as a whole, You Belong There almost feels like a rebuke to indie musics embrace of mainstream pop, particularly on dazzlingly intricate pieces like the title track and "Unpeopled Spaces." With this album, hes challenged himself to make something so personal and ambitious that it finds an audience precisely because its so extraordinary. Its a challenge that anyone whos been a fan of his music in any incarnation should accept. ~ Heather Phares