After the critical success of their 2009 outing, “Veckatimest,” Brookyln-based indie rockers Grizzly Bear had a lot of hype to live up to.

The band has risen to the occasion with their latest release, “Shields.”

While “Sleeping Ute,” the lead track and first single, may not have the far-reaching popularity of 2009’s “Two Weeks,” and the album as a whole lacks a unifying sound, the menagerie of tempos and emotions seem nonetheless to flow seamlessly into one another. From exciting psychedelic-rock outbursts to pensive piano phrases, “Shields” somehow makes this spectrum of sound naturally coexist.

The beautiful voices of Grizzly Bear shine through on key cuts such as “Yet Again” and “Gun-Shy.” Edward Droste and Daniel Rossen carry catchy, emotional melodies throughout, and when the whole band comes together for harmonies, the results are entrancing.

Lyrical verbosity and complexity is also perhaps at its highest point yet for the group. The album wants to be listened again and again to decipher and understand the messages conveyed. The musical complexity, showcased by the inclusion of odd instruments such as glockenspiels and a flugelhorn, also begs for deconstruction.

When you boil everything down, though, you find an album that illustrates a marriage of the old and the new. The band created “Shields” after a three year recording hiatus, and while elements of past success remain, new pieces and positions make this jigsaw puzzle appear unlike its predecessors. The feeling of piecing it together, though, remains the same.