Fleet Foxes | Fleet Foxes | Best Album of 2008

Fleet Foxes | Fleet Foxes | Fantastic!!

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Fleet Foxes

	Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes Sub Pop, 2008 average customer review:based on 75 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Best Album of 2008

The album bring back memories of the 60's and 70's folk rock. This is the perfect album to buy in vinyl. This is a must have.

Fantastic!!

Outstanding composition, harmonies, and delivery. Do yourself a favor and get on board with this group! And go see them live whenever you can!

"Oliver James washed in the rain no longer."

Fleet Foxes' debut full length album is a pleasant, folksy good time. It doesn't really reach the heights that some more intense bands do, but the combination of good acoustic guitar work, alternately catchy and haunting vocal harmonies, and unique song structures make for a record really worth listening too. The hippie-looking Robin Pecknold is probably the band's driving force, writing all the lyrics and taking charge with the vocals, but you get the feeling they just like playing together as a group and working together to create one memorable sound. I had heard that this album was one of the year's best indie releases, and decided to check the video for "White Winter Hymnal" on Youtube. I was a bit surprised by what I was hearing, because it doesn't sound like something from this year at all, but still captivated by it, and I shortly found out that this same thought carried throughout each of the tracks.

From the near prog-like constant shift in pace of "Sun it Rises" to the solitary howling at the end of "Oliver James", every song does something unique while still fitting the band's central feeling. I almost feel like I've heard some of these before, and I'm sure that's partly because it's hard to come up with unique music these days, but that quality of familiarity is part of its appeal to me. It's hard to really describe what makes each song good, because it's never a single hook or element, it's always the sum of the parts. Some favorites are "Ragged Wood", "Quite Houses", "Your Protector", and "Blue Ridge Mountains". It's really one of those albums that has to be listened to as one experience and not a bunch of disparate tracks to throw on your iPod's shuffle. Although "White Winter Hymnal" is still pretty awesome by itself.

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Fantastic Foxes

I am in awe of this album. The band describes their sound as "baroque harmonic pop jams" which is pretty accurate except for the jam part which brings to mind those long, aimless and barely melodic exercises in ego-stroking which clearly this isn't. These are well-constructed and concise folk-pop gems with influences (to my ears) such as the Beach Boys; Crosby,Stills,Nash & Young (with emphasis on Crosby and Young); and Sufjan Stevens while remaining totally original. It's impossible to get a feel for the glorious harmonies, intricate instrumentation and lush melodies by listening to the half-minute samples on this site. They can be off-putting but trust me, the songs are true wonders. They often start off a capella and build into these magnificent aural fountains of joy. I usually list my favorite songs but this CD is so incredibly consistent it would be foolish of me to do so. Intended or not, this work seems to be a song cycle, with each excellent song adding up to an even greater whole. Music this good doesn't come around often so pick it up as soon as you can. Your musical life will be richer for it. The EP "Sun Giant" that precedes this full-length is fairly good but won't prepare you for the artistic leap of this achievement.

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