Debut solo album from songwriter and Grizzly Bear multi-instrumentalist / vocalist Daniel Rossen – even if you’re not familiar with the name you’ll likely know his voice. Trading lead vocals with bandmate Ed Droste, Rossen’s band Grizzly Bear became leaders for a late-aughts wave of Brooklyn transplants bringing their introspective bedroom pop to the masses. With a trembling delivery, Rossen and co. similarly dealt out heady, ornate songs that eventually featured in nationwide commercials and movie trailers.

That being said, Daniel Rossen hasn’t lived in Brooklyn for a number of years now. Since 2017’s Painted Ruins, Grizzly Bear have appeared to be in hibernation aside from Droste’s departure in 2020 to become a therapist. As life charged onward, Rossen decamped to Sante Fe and began reflecting a lot more on individuality. Namely, after years of being a part of a successful collective, he saw the need to define himself “after the restless enthusiasm and public fanfare of his 20s and early 30s.” The result is You Belong There, Rossen’s debut solo album that sounds as reflective and searching as its title suggests.

Heralded by lead single ‘Shadow In The Frame’, the thorny twists and turns that defined Rossen’s work with Grizzly Bear return on his first solo outing, but with a new sense of urgency at the wheel. Taking up cello and woodwinds along with relearning the upright bass, Rossen assembles a jittery, yet stunning orchestra as he contends with his mortality on ‘Shadow in the Frame.’ Existential uncertainty weighs heavily on the sparser moments as found in ‘You Belong There’.

The talented Daniel Rossen allows his songwriting to take centre stage, crafting an ornate album following a period of reflective self-discovery.