Fleet Foxes
I heard stirrings about Fleet Foxes over the last year, but until relatively recently, I hadn’t heard them. It wasn’t until their SNL performance in January that I even knew what they sounded like. I’ve come to realize that their self-titled album is easily one of the best albums of 2008.
The performance itself was flawless, with every vocal harmony intact. It was one of the most impressive performances on SNL in many years. I’ve since obtained a copy of their full-length (as well as the previous Sun, Giant EP) and it hasn’t left my iPod (I’m one of those people that doesn’t have one big enough for their entire library).
I can hear a lot of other bands in their music, including (obviously) The Beach Boys, Simon and Garfunkel, Crosby, Stills, & Nash, and newer acts such as Maria Taylor, Band of Horses, and Iron and Wine. I find the best time to listen to Fleet Foxes is in the evening, when you’re winding down to go to bed. And while I’m not a morning person, I would imagine waking up to it would be pleasant as well. It’s certainly a relaxing record, yet it maintains the necessary energy to keep from boring the listener.
Standout tracks “White Winter Hymnal,” “He Doesn’t Know Why,” and “Blue Ridge Mountains”) are interspersed at even intervals, which makes it hard not to listen straight through.