Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes (2008)

Artist...............: Fleet Foxes
Album................: Fleet Foxes
Genre................: Folk
Source...............: Cd
Year.................: 2008
Ripper...............: Exact Audio Copy
Codec................: Flac
Information..........: TntVillage
Covers...............: Front
Total Size...........: 345 Mb


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Borrowing from ageless folk and classic rock (and nicking some of the best bits from prog and soft rock

along the way), on their self-titled debut album Fleet Foxes don't just master the art of taking familiar

influences and making them sound fresh again, they give a striking sense of who they are and what their

world is like. Their song titles reference the Blue Ridge Mountains -- never mind that they're actually

from Seattle -- but it's the ease and skill with which they mix and match British and American folk and

rock from the far and not too distant past that makes the band's music so refreshing. While this mix could

be contrived or indulgent, Fleet Foxes use restraint, structuring their flourishes into three- and four-

minute pop songs full of chiming melodies and harmonies that sound like they've been summoned from

centuries of traditional songs and are full of vivid, universal imagery: mountains, birds, family, death.

Despite drawing from so many sources, there's a striking purity to Fleet Foxes' sound. Robin Pecknold's

voice is warm and sweet, with just enough grit to make phrases like "premonition of my death" sound

genuine, and the band's harmonies sound natural, and stunning, whether they're on their own or supported by

acoustic guitars or the full, plugged-in band. "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" and "Meadowlarks" show just

how much the Foxes do with the simplest elements of their music, but Fleet Foxes' best songs marry that

purity with twists that open their sound much wider. As good as the Sun Giant EP was, Fleet Foxes saved

many of their best songs for this album. "White Winter Hymnal" is remarkably beautiful, building from a

vocal round into glorious jangle pop with big, booming drums that lend a sense of adventure as the spine-

tingling melody lightens some of the lyrics' darkness ("Michael you would fall and turn the white snow red

as strawberries in summertime"). The suite-like "Ragged Wood" moves from a galloping beat to sparkling

acoustic picking, then takes a trippy detour before returning to a more thoughtful version of its main

theme. "Quiet Houses" and "He Doesn't Know Why"'s driving pianos show off the band's flair for drama.

Dazzling songs like these are surrounded by a few songs that find the band leaning a little more heavily on

its influences. "Your Protector" nods to Zeppelin's misty, mournful side, and "Blue Ridge Mountains" is the

kind of earthy yet sophisticated song CSNY would have been proud to call their own. But, even when the

songs aren't as brilliant as Fleet Foxes' highlights, the band still sounds alluring, as on the lush

interlude "Heard Them Stirring." Throughout the album, the band sounds wise beyond its years, so it's not

really that surprising that Fleet Foxes is such a satisfying, self-assured debut.



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Tracklist
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01. Sun It Rises
02. White Winter Hymnal
03. Ragged Wood
04. Tiger Mountain Peasant Son
05. Quiet Houses
06. He Doesn't Know Why
07. Heard Them Stirring
08. Your Protector
09. Meadowlarks
10. Blue Ridge Mountains
11. Oliver James

Disc 2

01. Sun Giant
02. Drops In The River
03. English House
04. Mykonos
05. Isles