Fleet Foxes "Fleet Foxes" (2008) - got it
I first heard Fleet Foxes probably over a decade ago. The video for
their song "Mykonos" got plenty of play late at night on our local music
channel when I'd be watching TV after my evening/night shifts. For
some reason (possibly shift-related grumpiness) at the time I wanted to
dislike it, but it stuck with me. It stuck with me to the point that
years later, out of the blue I found myself youtubing some of their
songs and then picking up their debut album (with bonus "Sun God" EP) on
vinyl.
The band were eventually signed to Sub-Pop (a label previously much more
associated with the Seattle grunge movement) but not before they'd had
to scrape together the money to make recordings themselves, with
sessions taking places in houses/apartments of the band and their
producer.
The album opens with glorious a cappella vocal harmonies on "White Winter Hymnal". Vocal harmonies go on to a recurrent feature throughout the album. The band
has a lovely lush, yet organic sound, largely built from acoustic
instruments and the aforementioned vocals. Their sound mixes indie-pop
with folk, often an almost pastoral 'ye olde' folk.
The lush sound gets pared back on songs like "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song"
and "Oliver James" which offer Robin Peckold's high, clear voice time
to really shine. His voice gives songs "He Doesn't Know Why" and "Your
Protector" a sound that could be (not unfavourably) compared to the
Shins.
It's an impressive debut, somehow feeling simultaneously old, contemporary and timeless all at once.
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