With an innovative new album generating ample buzz and an audience that gobbled up tickets right away, New York art-rock band Grizzly Bear could have been wow-inducing Sunday night at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis. Instead, the reaction it left was just sort of an "eh."

One in a string of hip but mellower indie-rock bands brought to the Cedar by First Avenue's bookers (see also: Fleet Foxes, Camera Obscura), the experimental folk-rock quartet played just over an hour, with no encore and all the persona/charisma of four guys working at a vegan restaurant.

As would be expected of any band that has toured with Radiohead and TV on the Radio, Grizzly Bear certainly has clever, inventive musical ideas. Imagine the sweet harmonies of Simon & Garfunkel or the Beach Boys sung over the off-kilter tunings of Sonic Youth with pulsing, crescendoing rhythms underneath, and you get some of the idea of the band's unique sound.

The overall problem with Sunday's sold-out show was that the songs didn't sound so unique bundled together onstage. They just sort of produced a lulling drone. "Ready, Able" and "Little Brother" bounced up and down aurally like tape loops being played over and over. At times, the repetitiveness was hypnotic, especially in "Cheerleader." Mostly, though, it sounded sleepy.

A few tunes from the group's two-week-old third album, "Veckatimest" -- which produced eight of the 12 entries on the set list -- broke out from the pack, including the jagged pop gem "Two Weeks" and the still ballad "Foreground." The latter found bassist Chris Taylor moving to saxophone while co-lead singer Ed Droste demonstrated his talent as a swooner. Unlike the nearly unbearable opening band Here We Go Magic, Grizzly Bear also showed how effectively all four of its members can harmonize together in the pristine opener "Southern Point" and the older, swampy dirge "Knife."

Unfortunately, it seems Grizzly Bear is also best suited to remain an opening band for now.

chrisr@startribune.com • 612-673-4658