Painted Ruins

Painted Ruins is the fifth studio album by American indie rock band Grizzly Bear as the follow-up to their 2012 album Shields. It was released on August 18, 2017 by RCA. Along with the announcement of the album, the band announced a fall European and North American tour.[3]

Painted Ruins
Studio album by Grizzly Bear
Released	August 18, 2017
Recorded	2015-2017
Studio	Allaire Studios (Ulster County, near Shokan, New York), Terrible Studios (Los Angeles, California)[1]
Genre	Folk rock baroque pop psychedelic folk art rock[2]
Length	48:28
Label	RCA
Producer	Chris Taylor
Grizzly Bear chronology
Shields (2012) Painted Ruins (2017)
Singles from Painted Ruins
"Three Rings" Released: May 4, 2017 "Mourning Sound" Released: May 17, 2017 "Four Cypresses" Released: June 23, 2017 "Neighbors" Released: July 21, 2017

Recording

Grizzly Bear spent two years writing and recording for the album.[4] Band member Chris Taylor produced Painted Ruins, with recording sessions occurring primarily at Allaire Studios in New York, but also at various locations around Los Angeles, including Taylor's own Terrible Studios.[1]

Release

Prior to the release of the first single from the album, the band uploaded a series of mysterious teaser videos to their YouTube account.[5][6][7][8]

On May 4, 2017, the first single from the album, "Three Rings", was released.[9][10][11][12] The song was officially released at midnight in each successive time zone across the globe,[13][14] and was later uploaded to their YouTube channel.[15]

On May 17, Grizzly Bear revealed the name and release date of the upcoming album,[16] and also announced their first tour in four years, beginning in Dublin, Ireland on October 5, and continuing through the end of the year, with concerts in Europe and North America.[17] Later that same day, Grizzly Bear released the second single from the album, "Mourning Sound".[18][19]

On June 23, the band released the third track from the record, "Four Cypresses".[20][21]

On July 21, the band released the fourth single from the record, "Neighbors".[22][23]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.6/10[24]
Metacritic	82/100[25]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[26]
The A.V. Club	A−[27]
The Guardian	[28]
The Irish Times	[29]
Mojo	[30]
The Observer	[4]
Pitchfork	7.3/10[31]
Q	[32]
Rolling Stone	[33]
Uncut	9/10[34]

Painted Ruins has received acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 82 out of 100, which indicates "universal acclaim" based on 29 reviews.[25]

Laura Snapes in The Observer described the album as "Unbeholden to the band’s existence, Painted Ruins has a cavalier quality that you’d struggle to spot in its tense forebears".[4]

Accolades

Publication	Accolade	Year	Rank	Ref.
Uncut	75 best Albums of the Year	2017	20	[35]
Rolling Stone	50 Best Albums of 2017	2017	40	[36]
Earbuddy	Top 50 Albums of 2017	2017	83	[37]
Drowned in Sound	Favourite Albums of 2017	2017	20	[38]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Grizzly Bear.

No.	Title	Lead vocals	Length
1.	"Wasted Acres"	Rossen	2:52
2.	"Mourning Sound"	Droste/Rossen	4:22
3.	"Four Cypresses"	Rossen	4:48
4.	"Three Rings"	Droste	4:49
5.	"Losing All Sense"	Droste/Rossen	5:06
6.	"Aquarian"	Rossen	4:18
7.	"Cut-Out"	Droste/Rossen	3:46
8.	"Glass Hillside"	Rossen	4:54
9.	"Neighbors"	Droste	4:44
10.	"Systole"	Taylor	3:16
11.	"Sky Took Hold"	Droste	5:33
Total length:			48:28

Personnel

Credits:

• Christopher Bear – drums, percussion, synths, vocals, drum programming, wurlitzer, pedal steel
• Edward Droste – vocals
• Daniel Rossen – vocals, guitars, piano, synths, organ, cello
• Chris Taylor – vocals, bass, saxophones, clarinet, flute, bass harmonica, synths, drum programming

Charts

Chart (2017)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[39]	26
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[40]	46
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[41]	18
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[42]	32
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[43]	31
French Albums (SNEP)[44]	82
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[45]	27
Irish Albums (IRMA)[46]	6
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[47]	37
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[48]	19
Scottish Albums (OCC)[49]	17
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[50]	16
UK Albums (OCC)[51]	14
US Billboard 200[52]	27
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[53]	4

References

1. "Grizzly Bear To Release New Album "Painted Ruins" August 18; Global Headlining Tour Begins October 5". RCA Records. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
2. Ingram, Emily (August 15, 2017). "Grizzly Bear – Painted Ruins". Retrieved August 17, 2017 – via The Skinny.
3. Minsker, Evan and Monroe, Jazz (May 17, 2017). "Grizzly Bear Announce New Album Painted Ruins". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 8, 2017.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
4. Snapes, Laura (August 20, 2017). "Grizzly Bear: Painted Ruins CD review – out of hibernation". The Observer. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
5. Lozano, Kevin and Monroe, Jazz (April 4, 2017). "Grizzly Bear Tease New Music: Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 8, 2017.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
6. Yoo, Noah (April 10, 2017). "Grizzly Bear Tease More New Music With Mysterious Video: Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
7. Kim, Michelle (April 16, 2017). "Grizzly Bear Share Another New Clip of New Music: Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
8. Grizzly Bear. "Three Rings playlist". YouTube. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
9. Strauss, Matthew (May 4, 2017). "Grizzly Bear Release New Song "Three Rings"". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
10. Strauss, Matthew (May 5, 2017). "Listen to Grizzly Bear's New Song "Three Rings"". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
11. Blistein, Jon (May 5, 2017). "Hear Grizzly Bear's Spellbinding New Song 'Three Rings'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
12. Rettig, James (May 4, 2017). "Grizzly Bear – "Three Rings"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
13. Grizzly Bear (May 4, 2017). "Grizzly Bear Twitter 1". Twitter. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
14. Grizzly Bear (May 4, 2017). "Grizzly Bear Twitter 2". Twitter. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
15. GrizzlyBearVEVO (May 5, 2017). "Grizzly Bear - Three Rings". YouTube. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
16. Minsker, Evan and Monroe, Jazz (May 17, 2017). "Grizzly Bear Announce New Album Painted Ruins". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 23, 2017.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
17. Wicks, Amanda (May 17, 2017). "Grizzly Bear Announce First Tour in 4 Years". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
18. GrizzlyBearVEVO (May 17, 2017). "Grizzly Bear - Mourning Sound (Audio)". YouTube. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
19. Phillips, Amy (May 17, 2017). "Listen to Grizzly Bear's New Song "Mourning Sound"". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
20. GrizzlyBearVEVO (June 23, 2017). "Grizzly Bear - Four Cypresses (Lyric Video)". YouTube. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
21. Kim, Michelle (June 23, 2017). "Listen to Grizzly Bear's New Song "Four Cypresses"". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
22. GrizzlyBearVEVO (July 21, 2017). "Grizzly Bear - Neighbors (Official Video)". Retrieved July 21, 2017.
23. "Watch Grizzly Bear's Video for New Song "Neighbors" | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
24. "Painted Ruins by Grizzly Bear reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
25. "Reviews and Tracks for Painted Ruins by Grizzly Bear". Metacritic. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
26. Phares, Heather. "Painted Ruins – Grizzly Bear". AllMusic. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
27. Purdom, Clayton (August 18, 2017). "Grizzly Bear returns with some beautiful sounds inspired by bad times". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
28. Mumford, Gwilym (August 17, 2017). "Grizzly Bear: Painted Ruins review – intricate chamber pop from a band shaking back to life". The Guardian. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
29. Kane, Siobhan (August 17, 2017). "Grizzly Bear – Painted Ruins review: The end of the world as they know it". The Irish Times. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
30. Aston, Martin (September 2017). "Grizzly Bear: Painted Ruins". Mojo. No. 286. p. 90.
31. Mapes, Jillian (August 18, 2017). "Grizzly Bear: Painted Ruins". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
32. Doyle, Tom (September 2017). "Fight Club". Q. No. 376. p. 111.
33. Hermes, Will (August 18, 2017). "Review: Grizzly Bear End Hibernation and Engage the Pop Moment". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
34. Mitchum, Rob (September 2017). "Grizzly Bear: Painted Ruins". Uncut. No. 244. p. 18.
35. "Uncut's 75 Best Albums of 2017". Uncut. November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
36. "50 Best Albums of 2017". Rolling Stone. November 27, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
37. "Earbuddy's 100 Best Albums of 2017". Earbuddy.net. December 11, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
38. "Drowned in Sound's Favourite Albums of 2017". Drowned in Sound. November 22, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
39. "Australiancharts.com – Grizzly Bear – Painted Ruins". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
40. "Austriancharts.at – Grizzly Bear – Painted Ruins" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
41. "Ultratop.be – Grizzly Bear – Painted Ruins" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
42. "Ultratop.be – Grizzly Bear – Painted Ruins" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
43. "Grizzly Bear Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
44. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums – SNEP (Week 34, 2017)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
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46. [{{{url}}} "{{{title}}}"] Check |url= value (help). Retrieved August 26, 2017.
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49. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
50. "Swisscharts.com – Grizzly Bear – Painted Ruins". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
51. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
52. "Grizzly Bear Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
53. "Grizzly Bear Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 29, 2017.