Fuzz-rockers Grizzly Bear know how to keep people's attention until their next album -- in this case, putting out an album's worth of odds and ends.

And "Friend EP" is no more or less than that -- a jumble of covers (both theirs and other people's), alternate versions, and even a demo. It has one dud track, but the rest are pretty much mellow, arty little gems, sometimes rendered into something almost unrecognizable.

One of the biggest things here is the alternate versions of their songs -- it starts with the rippling, dreamlike, almost celestial version of "Alligator," as well as an electric-edged "Little Brother" and smoothly flowing "Shift." The final song is a lo-fi, home-recorded rendition of "Deep Blue Sea," which relies heavily on strummed acoustic guitar and faint whistling.

The only sour note is the Terrible vs. Nonhorse: Sounds Edit remix of "Plans," which is basically a big squiggle of psychotic flute, clatters, blown fuses, doorbells, and what sounds like a banjo dissolving.

Grizzly Bear also turn out a spooky, weirdly wistful cover of Carole King's "He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)". Additionally they also toss out a little demo called "Granny Diner," an ambient cluster of fuzz, meandering guitar, with a few ripples of soft organ and mournful vocals near the end. Not a bad song, but you can hear why it didn't make the cut.

And finally, there's a trio of bands covering Grizzly Bear's songs -- Band of Horses, CSS, and Atlas Sound. CSS rework "Plans" into a tight electronic squiggly dancefest, while Band of Horses go in the opposite direction, turning the same song into a music-hall country tune. And Atlas Sound turns "Knife" into a beautiful, hypnotically ambient pop tune.

"Friend" is not an EP in the sense of being short, but in the sense of not really being an album -- Grizzly Bear crammed plenty of material on here, and while it doesn't give quite the satisfied feeling of "Yellow House" or "Horn of Plenty," it's made up of individual songs that are, mostly, brilliant reminders of why we love them.

Their songs have the usual components of their music -- ringing guitar, flickering organ, subtle drums, bass, some synth, often buried under a layer of shifting fuzz. Even the angular edges of "Little Brother" doesn't disrupt their signature sound, and the smooth vocals all four contribute adds to their mournful, slightly dreamlike ambience.

In fact, they only really have problems in the aforementioned "Plans" remix, and the long stretch of verrrrrrryyyy sloooowwwwww buildup in "Granny Diner" before getting to the brilliant final two minutes. And the other bands do a good job adding their distintive sounds to Grizzly Bear too -- folky banjo, rapid techno, and a darker dreamy pop sound.

"Friend" is basically a collection of odds and ends, cobbled from Grizzly Bear and their pals. And until they come out with another album, it'll have to tide me over.

Thank goodness I can't categorize Grizzly Bear's music. When you listen to them, you are transported to a really weird, yet completely cohesive and sonic place. I advise starting at Yellow House and then moving on to this compilation which includes alt. versions of a few of their "hits". CSSs' version of "Knife" is priceless. The harmonies are gorgeous and dissonant on this disc. "He Hit me (and it felt like a kiss)" is truly a chestnut and it is well worth purchasing this disc for that track alone.

Im not in love with the cover on this album, but the songs performed by Grizzly Bear really carry it for me. I love there sound and I envy there writing skills. I think they did a great job making a really solid EP, although some of the songs freaked the shit out of me when i first heard them, its a great album and if you love Grizzly bear than its a good buy.

Let me state upfront that I wasn't aware much of Grizzly Bear until I saw them in concert here in Cincinnati at the MusicNow festival several months ago, and I loved their set. I bought this right then and there.

"Friend" (11 tracks; 43 min.) brings a lot of dreamy tracks, many of which are reworked songs from their previous "Yellow House" and "Horns of Plenty" albums, with several other covers thrown into the mix. Let me admit upfront that I heard this album before I heard the previous albums, and that I have to come and love this collection for what it is. In fact, when I got "Yellow House" after having listened to this so much, I was a bit let down by the "original" album that served as the main underpinning of this collection. Highlights are plenty on here, the best being "Little Brother", a reworked electric guitar version from "Yellow House", and so much better in my opinion.

I saw these guys again just this last weekend, opening up for Radiohead. Frontman Edward Droste, looking at the massive crowd, blurted out "This is a little surreal to us", and I'm sure it was. The band brought a terrific set, a mix of old songs (including a biting "Little Brother") and new songs, previewing the new album that will come out later this year, and I'll be checking that out for sure. Meanwhile, "Friend" stands quite nicely on its own.