Day 0980 - Fleet Foxes

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.

Day 0943 - Sea Change

Beck “Sea Change” (2002) – got it

Relationship breakups sometimes make for the best albums.  That was the case with the end of Beck’s 9-year relationship to his fiancée, after she cheated on him.  What to do when your heart has been broken by a cheatin’ woman…. Go country of course!

Beck wrote most of the songs in a week and then sat on them for a while.  He felt that the songs were too personal and that recording/releasing them would seem like airing his dirty laundry.  Not a surprising attitude for a guy who’d previously made his name laying abstract and cynical lyrics over a rapidly shifting collection of musical genres and sampled sounds.  Eventually he decided the breakup theme was universal enough to not seem too self-indulgent and recorded the songs.

‘Sea Change’ lives up to its name with Beck largely shelving his genre-splicing approach to largely stick with a ballady alt-country sound, and as mentioned, displaying much greater introspection with his lyrics.

There are still interesting audio touches.  The opening track “the Golden Age” is, on the face of it, a pretty straightforward ballad but with atmospheric washes of noise underneath.  The following track “Paper Tigers” has an almost Jean-Claude Vannier/Serge Gainsbourg vibe to its sound and string arrangements.   Strings are one of the main embellishments on the album and range from subtle backing to bombastic attack.   The mood througout is definitely sombre, with song titles like “Lost Cause” “Lonesome Tears” and “I Guess I’m doing Fine”.

The album manages to maintain its quality without a 'side B slump'.   A couple of the last few tracks "Sunday Sun" and "The Little One" kind of have hints of Chris Cornell's slanted melodic sensibilities, maybe with touches of Radiohead thrown into the mix.   Radiohead's regular collaborator Nigel Godrich produces, so one of those influences is perhaps unsurprising.

Day 0354 - Arrival

ABBA "Arrival" (1976) - got it

My mum had this album on vinyl when I was growing up and, being an ABBA fan from a young age, I listened to it fairly religiously.  Benny and Bjorn were just such skilled songsmiths.  They could come up with tricky little ideas, but they mostly just favoured strong and simple songs.  It’s not on this album, but I saw an interview with them where they singled out “ the winner takes it all” as one of their stronger compositions exactly because it is a song built more or less around just one repeating melodic motif.

Obviously the ’hits’ from this album are all good.  “Knowing me and Knowing you”, “Money Money Money” “Dancing Queen” and gently anthemic album closer “Fernando” are all memorable earworms that are possibly even popping back into your head just from reading the song titles.  Outside of the hits though, the other tracks are just as enjoyable.  Whether it’s the playful “When I kissed the teacher”, the slightly cheesy “Dum dum diddle” or my personal favourite “Tiger” which switches from poppy glam rock to the subdued, almost childlike melodic bridge sections.

The tracks with Benny and/or Bjorn singing are enjoyable too, but the group really shines when Agnetha and Frida are on the mics, creating the classic ABBA sound.