Photos by Rich Thane | Words by Rich Hughes

It’s been a while coming… unlike Mr. Richard Thane (here and here), I’ve not had the pleasure of seeing Fleet Foxes live yet. I’ve lived with the album for, what feels like, a lifetime. It’s become an essential album, one I turn to frequently when I want to drift away and escape from the confines of my Credit Crunched life. And yet, as I approached The Junction on a freezing cold night, I was worried. I know these songs inside out, how will they translate live? Will the vocal harmonies still resonate so spectacularly? By the hushed expectation of the crowd, I don’t think I was the only one with these concerns… Continue Reading

Back in June, Fleet Foxes were just finishing off their first ever UK tour. A handful of dates around the major cities, showcasing their just released self titled album and Sun Giant EP. They had lots to prove, the hyperbole surrounding them was unprecedented - everyone from Plan B magazine to Aled Jones (?!) on Radio 2 were talking about them. THE buzz band of 2008, for want of a better phrase.

After a sold-out show at London’s ULU, which pretty much left me speechless for about 30 minutes afterwards, Fleet Foxes announced a headline slot at one of London’s prime venues; the Shepherds Bush Empire. It sold out within 24 hours, as did the subsequent tour. Surely this would be one of the most important and celebrative gigs of their short career so far? Continue Reading

Remember that totally shit hot video of Dylan’s ‘I Shall Be Released’ by Fleet Foxes and Wilco we featured a while ago? Well, it must have proved pretty damn popular - it’s just been announced that the track is now available as a free download. There is a catch though. You have to promise to vote in the upcoming presidential election. A bit of a bitch for us non-US folks then..

Here’s the skiny via Wilcoworld.net

Such tumultuous times. And in the spirit of giveaways that seem to be sweeping the nation, we’ve got something free for you. No it’s not a pile of cash (sorry) but rather an audio postcard of sorts from a summer’s night in Oregon with our friends the Fleet Foxes & a lovely Bob Dylan tune. All we ask is you check the “I pledge to vote in the 2008 Election” button below. If you can spare it, we also encourage you to consider a donation to Feeding America . (and please feel free to pass this link along to friends, family members, etc.).

Click here to grab the track and pledge your vote.

Visiter is the second album to be released by American psychedelic folksters The Dodos. The duo formed in San Francisco back in 2006 with originally just one member, Meric Long whom toured around the city as a one-man acoustic act going by the name of Dodobird. After studying Western African Ewe drumming Long began to take a strong interest in blues and set out to fuse the two together creating a sound, which revolved around percussion as the centrepiece. He was later introduced to progressive metal drummer Logan Kroeber and soon after The Dodos were born and released their first album in 2006, Beware the Maniacs. Some rigorous touring later and they have now returned with an album, which promises thoughtful lyrical content, a variety of quirky yet well-structured acoustic arrangements, and more importantly some damn good drumming.
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The lucky folks of America are currently being treated to the superb double whammy of Wilco and Fleet Foxes as they tour the States together. Being a huge fan of both, I could only dream of that kind of thing happening over here. Doubtful really, considering Jeff Tweedy’s dislike for the UK seemed to step up a notch after last years cancellation of a number of dates. This kind of makes up for it though. Yes, two of my favourite bands cover the Bob Dylan classic ‘I Shall Be Released’ during a recent show. I was speechless this morning when I stumbled across it. Tweedy’s falsetto is especially impressive during the second verse. Check it out below:

J. Tillman is a Seattle based musician who has been quietly releasing solo albums for the past few years, before which he was stick man for the instrumental rock band Saxon Shore, and now more recently he is the newly arrived drummer for Fleet Foxes. The thing is, though, those quietly released albums have been brilliant. It seems that he has been caught in the fickle tides of the internet music boom: too many artists too readily available, so someone as talented as Tillman can all too easily get ignored. Continue Reading

I’ve pretty much just finished dancing round the office now.. Oh yes, our favourite band of the moment are back in the UK this November for an extensive headlining tour. Fitting the dates around the already sold-out Shepherds Bush Empire show on 5th November, the guys will be all over the country throughout October and November. Do. Not. Miss. Them.

Support for all the dates comes from the newest member of the band - J. Tillman. Yes, not only is Josh a kick ass drummer he can also write a damn fine tune too. He has three albums cuurently available (Minor Works, Long May You Run and Cancer & Delirium) with his fourth (Vacilando Territory Blues) being released by Bella Union early next year. Josh will be joined by other members of the band during his set - so, in a sense you’re getting two Fleet Foxes sets for the price of one. Kinda.

Those dates are:

October
28th - NORWICH - Waterfront
29th - SHEFFIELD - Union
30th - BRISTOL - University Anson Rooms
31st - BIRMINGHAM - Space 2

November
2nd - NOTTINGHAM - Trent University
5th - LONDON - Shepherd’s Bush Empire ***SOLD-OUT**
7th - DUBLIN - Vicar Street
8th - GLASGOW - ABC
9th - MANCHESTER - Academy
10th - LONDON - Shepherd’s Bush Empire
11th - CAMBRIDGE - Junction

To wet your appetite a little, why not check out our live review from a few weeks back when the guys were first in London. Read more about J. Tillman here and here. And finally, enjoy a recent Black Cab Session below.

If we’re to quote The Cranberries (and why shouldn’t you?), “Everybody else is doing it, so why can’t we?”. As we’ve past the halfway point in this year of 2008, it seemed like a good time to look back. What have been the musical higlights of the year so far? We’ve had some absolutely corking albums released, from Fleet Foxes genre defying debut, to Elbow’s continued cultured and heartwarming release. It might surprise some of our readers what’s ended up on this list but one thing this exercise has made us realise, is that come the end of the year, there’s going to be a big pile of albums under the ‘Excellent’ heading…

So how did we decide on the final 10 albums? We asked all of our writers to email in their favourite 5 releases of the year thus far. Each album voted for was then given a point and entered into a highly technical spreadsheet - which left us with the following records… Continue Reading

Fleet Foxes photographs by Rich Thane.

It’s nice to suddenly find yourself at a gig that’s gone from being a slightly obscure “up-and-coming” type show to a full blown queue-round-the-block hot ticket in the space of a few weeks. Tonight’s sold out ULU Bella Union showcase is exactly that, with Fleet Foxes garnering 5/5 reviews in every broadsheet and monthly magazine going. Fame, it seems, is looking over their shoulder, and tonight’s gig feels like a significant moment in their rapid rise. Continue Reading