Last year Grizzly Bear announced at some of their shows that they’d be taking a year off to write and record their next album. Now that I’ve seen them twice this year — the one they were supposedly taking off from touring — I can honestly never been so happy to have been lied to.

MP3: Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks (live on Letterman)

Oh sure, they’re pretty much tearing through the work on their next album. In fact, we got plenty of proof this weekend. In addition to the previously played songs “While You Wait for the Others” and “Two Weeks” we were treated to two previously-unheard ones that’ll be on the next record. As with any Grizzly Bear song I’ll need repeated listens to really let it sink in, but there was one that sounded like it was going to turn into something quite special.

Hear both the new new tunes at Stereogum

But I hate to harp on the new material when their old stuff sounded so incredible. It was hot, yeah, but even so the group were still in good form. Ed’s vocals on “Knife” sounded better than I’ve ever heard him; Dan’s guitar work simultaneously made be want to devote my life to playing guitar and never pick it up again; Chris Bear proved yet again why he’s one of my favorite drummers; and Chris Taylor has raised his multi-instrumental contributions to the point where their live shows are eventually going to sound as layered as their studio work.