Emerging in early 2008 with their first EP Sun Giant, Fleet Foxes fail to disappoint in
their first full-length album. The album opens with a short tune within a tune titled "Red Squirrel," which is a great precursor to the rest of the album. I recently read a review on Amazon.com from a listener who thought this moment at the beginning was the most off putting part of the whole album, in my eyes, he/she couldn't be more wrong. That 5-second moment is the moment that I believe describes Fleet Foxes the best: Honest and endearing. The initial 5 seconds then melts into the first full track, "Sun it Rises," which may leave you wondering if they can hold the standard established in the first 3:12. Rest assured, they can.
their first full-length album. The album opens with a short tune within a tune titled "Red Squirrel," which is a great precursor to the rest of the album. I recently read a review on Amazon.com from a listener who thought this moment at the beginning was the most off putting part of the whole album, in my eyes, he/she couldn't be more wrong. That 5-second moment is the moment that I believe describes Fleet Foxes the best: Honest and endearing. The initial 5 seconds then melts into the first full track, "Sun it Rises," which may leave you wondering if they can hold the standard established in the first 3:12. Rest assured, they can.The biggest draw to this album by far has to be the vocals. Each track has been written and tailored to show off their harmonies as well as front man Robin Pecknold's beautifully haunting vocals. Even when they try their hand at a lyric-less tune in "Heard Them Stirring," their vocals still make a lasting impression. Perhaps the most moving part of the album is at the end of their final track, "Oliver James," when Pecknold's a Capella vocals leave you on a cliff-hanging moment to the point where you'll want to restart the album all over so you can experience it again. I'd attribute the final lyrics to standing at the threshold of your girlfriend/boyfriend's home, a kiss still lingering on your lips, wishing the night will never end.
The aesthetic of this album is distinctly different than most and is the thing that makes me repeat this album over and over again. Remember that word honesty? This is where it really comes into play. Fleet Foxes use of reverb makes it sound like it could have been recorded in an old church hall in any small town in North America, a distinctly rural feel. This is why Fleet Foxes is so honest, because it sounds like it was recorded in your own back yard. There are no pretentious lyrics or fancy instrumental tricks, it's guitar, a keyboard, drums and harmonizing vocals. Raw, simple, wonderful.
Fleet Foxes is an album that has many unexpected surprises on every track. From the spooky, Grimm Brothers-esque fairy-tale lyrics of "White Winter Hymnal," to the staccato piano on "Blue Ridge Mountains," this album stays interesting the whole way through and by the final reverberating echoes of "Oliver James," will leave you begging for more.
