Fleet Foxes

I picked up Fleet Foxes' self-titled debut during one of my frequent trips to the HMV "two for ten" section. They had been recommended to me by last.fm after listening to bands like Mostly Autumn and Bon Iver, and I can see why. I will readily admit that when I bought the CD I had absolutely no idea what to expect, and what I heard was very much a pleasant surprise.

The music is a gentle blend of alt-rock guitar, folk melody and soothing 5-part harmonies with the reverb knob turned up to full. The result is a dreamy sound that captures the imagination and makes you take notice, all the while being lulled into a day-dream state. The lyrics are definitely folk-inspired, ambiguously poetic and evoking romanticised imagery of more innocent times.

The cover art is a particular point of interest for me. The outer cover is detail from a painting called Netherlandish Proverbs, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder in 1559. The picture contains many small scenes enacting literal representations of Flemish proverbs of the day. It is one of those wonderfully deep pictures that, at first glance, appears to be little more than a picture of 16th century village life, but on close inspection contains some wonderfully intricate detail.

The album cover itself shuns the jewel case, and is instead a card sleeve with the painting around it. Tucked into the front is a slip of paper containing the liner notes, but is actually more a letter to the listener by lead singer Robin Pecknold. It describes the band's desire to create music that transports the listener to a particular time or place.

The letter details the singer's feeling as he discovered, upon seeing photos of his own childhood, that his own most treasured memories were fabrications of his imagination after seeing these photographs at an earlier, unremembered time and integrating them into his own self image. I always enjoy looking at the little book included with many albums, but despite their simplicity, these are now my favourite to date. Like the music and the lyrics, these simple notes have a melancholic romance about them that appeals to me and gives me the impression that these musicians care deeply about how their listeners respond to the work they have created.

From humble beginnings to one of 2008's "must hear" bands, Fleet Foxes have come a long way in a very short time. Before they ever released a track, they got over quarter of a million listens on their MySpace page from word-of-mouth recommendation alone. Their debut album is an absolute pleasure to listen to, and it's very difficult to pinpoint favourites within its humble 39 minute play time.

White Winter Hymnal is one of my personal high points of the album, with an upbeat tempo and folk harmonies that are easy to listen to and have a definite feel good element. Another is Your Protector, an altogether more sombre song with a distinctly military feel. The song's meaning is not clear from the lyrics, but it conjours up the image of the girl left behind, from the perspective of the soldier at war, not expecting to return.

Every track has some aspect that arouses some emotion. By the end of the final track, the almost a capella tragedy of Oliver James, it's easy to feel that the band don't want the album to end, almost as much as the listener. An amazing album.

Fleet Foxes at MySpace
Fleet Foxes at Wikipedia