Just because Letterman insisted on an extended Fourth of July holiday, we’ve been forced to sit with our thumbs on the DVR record button for the last month just waiting for that special night when Grizzly Bear would make their long-announced Late Show appearance. And finally it’s here!

Since rescheduling the original July 2nd performance date, lots of additional Grizzly Bear-related news has come to light. Earlier this month, Ed Droste spoke to Billboard about the progress of their new studio album, on which they’ve spent the last three weeks recording in upstate New York and hope to release in April 2009. And speaking of, check out some pics from these sessions over on their blog (that’s where the above photo came from). According to Droste, if 2006’s classic Yellow House felt like a fall afternoon then the new record is decidedly more like a sunny afternoon….

“I think we’re all in a really poppy place for sure,” Droste says. “There are dark lyrics in play, and it’s not like the whole album is going to be an up-tempo radio pop thing at all. We’ll probably never get played on the radio, but [on] just a couple of the songs the mood is perhaps a bit sunnier than ‘Yellow House.’”

Advance single “While You Wait for the Others” gave early proof of this new direction (listen below); tonight, the band will debut another brand new song, the piano-based track tentatively titled “Two Weeks.”

Elsewhere, guitarist/singer Daniel Rossen announced the release of In Ear Park, the long-awaited sophomore album from his other band, the wonderfully mercurial Department of Eagles. In case you already forgot, you can read more about it HERE.

And finally, the band announced a special show on August 9th at the Music Hall of Williamsburg to benefit the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation. This of course will occur as they split time touring with another little band you may have heard of…

Listen: “While You Wait for the Others”

See Grizzly Bear Live:
31 Jul - Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge
01 Aug - Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
02 Aug - Louisville, KY @ Listening Room
03 Aug - Noblesville, IN @ Verizon Wireless Music Center w/Radiohead
04 Aug - Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center w/Radiohead
06 Aug - Montreal, QC @ Parc Jean Drapeau w/Radiohead
07 Aug - Northampton, MA @ Calvin Theater w/ The New Pornographers
08 Aug - Jersey City, NJ @ All Points West Music & Arts Festival
09 Aug - Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
11 Aug - Washington, DC @ Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
12 Aug - Camden, NJ @ Susquehanna Bank Center w/Radiohead
13 Aug - Mansfield, MA @ Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts w/Radiohead
14 Aug - Boston, MA @ Calderwood Courtyard - The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
15 Aug - Toronto, Ontario @ Molson Amphitheatre

Visit Grizzly Bear on MySpace.