Grizzly Bear’s new album, Painted Ruins, reminds us that you should never rush talent. They last released an album in 2012 and we’ve missed them, but after first listen we can’t help but forgive the gaping hole they left in the music scene. It’s that good. In the years since 2012’s Shields, the band members have left their Brooklyn stomping grounds and scattered around the country, heading west. While separated, the four started a dropbox account to collaborate remotely, sharing everything from mood boards to songs for inspiration. Thus began a long, organic process of piecing together what would become their next project. Beginning in May, a slew of singles off of Painted Ruins began to surface, whetting the appetite of eager fans of Grizzly Bear’s specific brand of folky psychedelic pop. Listening to the album, it’s clear that much has changed for the better and that the open skies of their respective environments have done them good.

The sound on Painted Ruins is loud and the bass is heavy, yet each track is warm and inviting in its own right. The time carefully spent on this latest album is evident; it’s controlled and mature, but far from boring. The complex layers that make up the eleven tracks leave behind a hypnotic glow. Catchy baselines and crunchy electric guitar provide the body of work with a distinct accessibility; you’ll find that your foot will be tapping and your head will be nodding. Painted Ruins is made for those times when you want to tune out and turn your headphones way, way up. With all of the dreamy harmonies you’ve come to know and love from their past releases, this album comes across as much more exuberant and hard hitting. It’s pop.

As always, Grizzly Bear’s storytelling is ambiguous, but the influence of their new environs is obvious. Three of the four bandmembers now call Southern California home and Daniel Rossen splits his time between Upstate New York and New Mexico. The freedom of the American West and its limitless possibilities is felt sonically and thematically on Painted Ruins. The video for “Neighbors” takes place in a bucolic setting in a prehistoric time, while the “Three Rings” and “Four Cypresses” feature trippy visuals with shots of palm trees. On “Losing All Sense,” a lover is compared to a rogue wave crashing over someone; all control is lost. In this respect, the intentional and exacting sound of the album contradicts the lyrical subject matter. Much of it deals with letting go of the past and looking forward towards new beginnings. Like the LA ideal, the sky’s the limit. Painted Ruins prompts listeners to let go without a care in the world. So go ahead– lose your inhibitions and let Grizzly Bear take you there.