Music Review: Fleet Foxes (with audio samples)
If there’s a band that is in the running for dethroning The Delgados as my favorite, it’s Fleet Foxes.
Actually, there is no running. But if there were, Fleet Foxes would be at the top.
This five-man band out of Seattle has managed to produce a sound that literally had me doing a double-take. Few bands have ever been able to rely so heavily on their forbears (and when I say forbears, I’m talking in the relative date range between, oh, 1300 and 1990 A.D. or so) and still sound so completely original.
It’s hard to really describe what makes Fleet Foxes so different. It really is something you have to experience, which I’ll help you out with here in a second.
And by the way, the music is all linked at the end. So if that’s why you’re here, you can just scroll down to the bottom of this post. I’ll not be offended if you don’t read my article. But only because I have no way of knowing.
When you plug in the album, first and most apparent is their love of retro recording techniques such as a sound chamber (used to generate resonance). Their recordings have a tsunami of reverb; almost as if you were listening to them play inside a gothic cathedral. While it’s tempting to be annoyed by this, it works well with their particular style, adding a rustic and ethereal feel their vocal harmonies.
Second, their songs evoke something nostalgic. My first temptation was to label these guys as a reincarnation of a 70’s folk rock band like Crosby, Stills & Nash (one of their cited influences). But then I realized that the nostalgia was reaching a lot deeper than that. It was less like taking a stroll down main and like taking a stroll down a medieval lane. Listening to them, you can’t help but feel that you are hearing bardic band recount bygone legends of love and heroism, even while band founder Robert Peckingold sings modern words like “I heard that you missed your connecting flight.” The lyrics have a poetic maturity to them that suggest years of experience with the ups and downs of life. Which is amazing, considering Peckingold is in his early 20’s.
In short, the music feels like you’ve heard it somewhere before. Or at least, you’ve heard someone attempt it before, but never quite succeed. It feels old, mature and bears the mark of master craftsmanship. And yet, it also sounds new, innovative and captivating in a way that makes you feel as if you have never heard folk music before Fleet Foxes came around. It’s tempting to use some pity catchphrase here, like “back to the future,” but that would just be cliche and way, way below a writer of my talents. Yeah.
Fleet Foxes’ arrangements are complex and straightforward at the same time – in that way they remind me of classical composers such as Tchaikovsky, who was frequently accused of being unsophisticated in his musical technique but managed to compose works that sounded wonderfully full and textured. Fleet Foxes, for example, don’t readily include complex percussion, occasionally using only a tambourine and a floor tom to generate a primal beat, like in the song “White Winter Hymnal.” Acoustic guitar, bass, keyboard and percussion are the meat and potatoes, with dulcimers, kotos and other unconventional sounds acting as aural garnish. The real crowning jewel to their style, though, is three to four-part male harmonies, which are absolutely gorgeous, by the way, and further reinforce the modernly medieval feel that this band evokes. If monks had amplifiers, drum kits and girlfriends back in the days of Gregorian chant, maybe they’d have sounded like something like Fleet Foxes.
White Winter Hymnal is the song that started it all for me, introduced to me by my brother-in-law Lars Lindstrom, who I think is so in love with Fleet Foxes that I wouldn’t be surprised if he has started wearing flannel and trying to grow a beard.
From what I’ve read, their relative popularity here in the U.S. among indie and folk aficionados is nothing compared to the roaring reception they received during their U.K. tour for their self-titled album. Which is a pity, since a nice fan-base would really help bring them here to little old Salt Lake City. You’d think they’d be really popular here. After all, as one YouTuber put it, “How could you not love a band where all the members look like Jesus?” Either way, I can guarantee at least one person will be there if the Fleet Foxes ever make it to Utah.
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