For those of you who may have missed earlier TLOBF ravings about the band (shame on you!), Fleet Foxes are a quite extraordinary and distinctive new addition to the world of alternative blog-rock. This wonderful album showcases the band’s key features in gorgeously sound-drenched fashion.
What is most striking on first listen is how old fashioned, or otherworldly they seem. When, on ‘Blue Ridge Mountains’ they sing of someone who has “missed your connecting flight ” it jars: this is music that seems rooted in an era before air travel. This sense of time and place is achieved partly by the instrumentation: banjos are in liberal use (see: ‘Sun It Rises’, ‘Quiet Houses’, ‘Heard Them Stirring’ – a track punctuated by banjo ‘riffs’); tambourines too, bringing to mind 19th century revivalist prayer meetings (in particular on ‘White Winter Hymnal’); accordions, flutes, acoustic guitar and pianos all contribute to the sound and mood.
Partly, too, there is a distinct focus on themes pastoral and rural. Animals, birds, frozen rivers, rising suns, mountains, woods, hills, morning light, waving tall grasses all feature. Another key theme is that of family – brothers, sisters, mothers and grandfathers are namechecked. This is also a distinctly American take on things – think Little House on the Prairie, or The Waltons (without the saccharine and moral judgements). The lyrics too are often phrased in a way that is reminiscent of folk songs – “Wanderers this morning came by ” from ‘Tiger Mountain Peasant”, for example.
This record is such a deeply satisfying, intense and often extremely moving experience in no small part thanks to the quite beautiful vocals. Singer Robin Pecknold is gifted with a pure, intense and expressive alto, which is served well by the addition of an echoey reverb in the places where he sings alone, such as on the opening to ‘Sun It Rises’, ‘White Winter Hymnal’, and the lovely ‘Ragged Wood’. The best showcase for Pecknold’s voice, though, is ‘He Doesn’t Know Why’, a track which I think offers everything that is wonderful about this band and is, for me, the inspiring and anthemic album highlight. The use of harmonies, too, is consistently judicious, impressive and striking: often coming in wave after wave, each one richer and more lush than the last, as on ‘White Winter Hymnal’.
What else? The band do have a habit of seeming to graft two songs together into one, or perhaps just markedly change the pace, timing and feel of a song half way through. This happens on ‘Ragged Wood’, ‘Quiet Houses’ and ‘He Doesn’t Know Why’, and can be a little disconcerting. I would also perhaps have liked to have been able to get a better sense of what was being sung about, lyrically, beyond the general impressions of mainly bucolic folk-fairy-tales. These, however, are minor gripes and straws being clutched at for the sake of a balanced review… This is a fabulous album – intelligent yet naïve all at once – and one that undoubtedly merits the critical plaudits it will surely receive.
88%
Fleet Foxes is released 2nd June through Bella Union.
Download TLOBF’s Exclusive 10 Track Playlist featuring Fleet Foxes, My Morning Jacket & Lykke Li here.
Links
Fleet Foxes [myspace] [label] [sun giant ep review]
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Nice review Jude! This is a great album, mixing together some of my favourite artists and musical styles into one all encompassing album.
yeah – great review. high 5 to jude. although, come on – seriously 88%??? we’re talking at least 95% here surely?
you’re too strict woman!
Hehe, Thanks guys. I’m very stingy with my percentages, in general. Trust me – an 88 from me is indication of an extremely awesome album…
I have fallen in love with this band’s music & songs. I can’t wait to get this album – if it’s as good as the Sun Giant EP, then alleluia!
Fleet Foxes have finally made it – Aled Jones just played them on Radio 2. How about that?!?
what, as in the welsh opera singer aled jones? who’d have thought it!
Yep, Mr “Walking In the Air” man, the very same. He played White Winter Hymnal and it sounded pretty wonderful. Aled seemed keen on it as well. Niceness.
i’d like to hear him cover it.
have you heard the album yet simon?
I absolutely love it Rich, and really think that Jude nails it in this review, it sums up how I feel about it as well. It does sound like it doesn’t belong in this decade, nor to this country, and so I love how it almost transports me to a different time and place. I’d say White Winter Hymnal is my favourite on the album as it is the most evocative of that feeling. So maybe Aled has got it right for once.
Incidently, Johnny Walker just played it as well – can’t be a conicidence, it must have made the radio 2 playlist.
i think the line “this record is such a deeply satisfying, intense and often extremely moving experience” pretty much sums it up for me.
i havent heard a record in years that i love as much as this, seriously. so much so, that when i talk to people about it – i can’t even begin to describe how good it is. after seeing them live also – i was just left speechless, totally open mouthed.
Hey! It has made the radio 1 website as well, it is played by Zane Lowe as one of his hottest records… things and also by Ferne Cotton. How excititng!
brilliant! if fearne cotton played it things must REALLY be looking up. she’s totally down with the kids in a big way.