Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes | Format: MP3 Download

Product Details

• Original Release Date: June 3, 2008
• Label: Sub Pop Records
• Copyright: 2008 Sub Pop Records
• Total Length: 39:36
• Genres: Alternative Rock/Indie & Lo-Fi, Broadway & Vocalists/Traditional Vocal Pop, Pop/Vocal Pop
• ASIN: B001A3AA0G
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (194 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #517 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)
  • #3 in MP3 Downloads > MP3 Albums > Broadway & Vocalists > Traditional Vocal Pop
  • #3 in MP3 Downloads > MP3 Albums > Pop > Vocal Pop
  • #9 in MP3 Downloads > MP3 Albums > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

120 of 131 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hold me dear, into the night, June 4, 2008

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fleet Foxes (Audio CD)

The Fleet Foxes are a rock band that sounds like no other -- imagine a pastoral choir overwhelming a sweeping folk-rock band, in the middle of a sunlit forest in the spring.

That's about the sound of the Fleet Foxes' self-titled debut album -- it's a stream of lush, jangly folk pop, edged with a touch of baroque and country-rock. While their "Sun Giant" EP was an excellent introduction, it's nothing compared to the rough-edged grandeur of the full-length album, with its glorious instrumentation and vivid lyricism.

The only really offputting part of the album is the opening five seconds, when an off-key chorale sings, "Reeeeed squirrel in the morning/Reeeeeeeed squirrel in the evening..."

Then the song suddenly melts into a gentle acoustic guitar shimmering with keyboard. "The sun rises, over my head/Hold me dear, into the night/Sun it will rise soon in the morn..." Robin Pecknold sings with all the solemnity of a choirboy. His voice soars over the steelier riffs and thumping drums, only to settle down with, "The sun rising, dangling there/Golden and fair, in the sky..."

Wow. When an intro is that lovely, just imagine what the songs that follow are going to be like.

In this case, it's the shifting folky "White Winter Hymnal," with its kettle drums and beautiful campfire harmonies ("I was following... I was following... I was following the pack/all swallowed in their coats/with scarves of red tied 'round their throats"), followed by the endearingly energetic rocker "Ragged Wood" ("You should come back home/back on your own now!").

It gets no less endearing after that: Gentle bluesy ballads, jangly folk-pop with lots of squiggly mellotron, sweeping pop chorales, bouncy countryish rockers with lots of intertwined guitars. Things get quieter near the end -- "Fleet Foxes" ends with a trio of lower-key, folkier ballads, sometimes with nothing more than Pecknold's voice and a guitar.

There's something very warm and welcoming about the Fleet Foxes' music, and there's hardly a song on their self-titled album that doesn't contain that sunniness. And though the bittersweet songs focus on the usual topics -- family, love, lost friends -- there's a strong feeling of pastoral beauty, especially since they're sprinkled with meadowlarks, wood-women, "quivering forests," Tennessee and grassy graves.

In fact, the lyrics are crammed with vivid ("And, Michael, you would fall/and turn the white snow red as strawberries") and striking language ("I hold a cornucopia and a golden crown"). At times, the band's lyrics are pure poetry ("Wanderers this morning came by/Where did they go?/Graceful in the morning light/To banner fair/To follow you softly/In the cold mountain air...").

These songs are wrapped in lush melodies of striking music, which happily swirl together folk, classic earthy rock, pop, baroque and a bit of country. And an coustic guitar is the lead instrument here; sometimes it's all by itself, and sometimes it's intertwined with a smooth mix of other instruments -- hollow drums, rippling mellotron, steely guitar, and a hint of harp being plucked somewhere.

And finally there's Robin Pecknold. He sounds a little off-key in the spare ballads, but in the more complex songs he sounds sweet, strong and truly beautiful, especially when he does that soaring thing. And I have to say, I'm a sucker for the band's sunny chorale sound -- the harmonies really make those melodies sound exquisite.

The Fleet Foxes' self-titled debut is one of the best albums I've heard all year, with its blend of styles and bittersweetly lovely songs. Haunting and truly lovely.

59 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the Beach Boys of Winter, August 28, 2008

By 

AJay McLaughlin "Peace Creeps" (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fleet Foxes (Audio CD)

I heard something on WXPN that stirred me from my coffee and newspaper, but all I caught aside from the almost shape note singing was the name Fleet Foxes. Then someone I've been sharing musical knowledge with put in quite a few good words regarding this and Sun Giants. I eventually got around to picking this up at the local independant music store. I played it through a couple times and threw it on the pile. Then I started hearing it in the distance. A soft baroque chiming in the back of my head. Not the Zombies not Procol Harum nor Left Banke. Oddly rootsy. Sad like the last days of Summer. I ended giving it my full attention and played it over and over with special attention to Hymnal.
It was then I realized that they were the Beach Boys of Winter.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A full five from a Fleet Foxes fan, May 8, 2009

By 

Dereck Burke (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fleet Foxes (Audio CD)

I picked up this CD on a whim when seeing it in the "Customers Also Bought These Items" when looking at a Decemberists CD. At first, the CD did not speak to me, with the exception of White Winter Hymnal, and the songs generally sounded the same. After about 3 listens through however, I had achieved a greater appreciation for the melodies that had been sewn into this LP, and some of them stuck in my head for days (especially Ragged Wood). The vocals are outstanding, reminding me at times of the band America, but Fleet Foxes are also able to invoke elaborate mental images of train whistles and wind with their harmonization. Many of the songs are written in a progressive style, and at times you may think you are on a different track number than you actually are, but Fleet Foxes don't miss a beat in delivering an altogether solid album from start to finish.