Customer Reviews
Restores my faith in harmony vocals - By: K. jones, 03 Oct 2008 
My music tastes usuallly have to include talented musical playing ability i.e.Porcupine Tree, Keith Jarrett, Jimi Hendrix, Weather Report etc so it unusual for me to rave about an album based on singing & harmony vocals but the Fleet Foxes have given me an album that I have not enjoyed so much for years. I dont do a bundle on singers apart from Jeff Buckley,Thom Yorke, early Neil Young & Lowell George but the phrasing of the vocals on these delightful songs reallly hit the spot. Could be too mellow for some but on further & repeated listening it is ever so rewarding. Im raving to my friends(those with musical taste) so much about the Fleet Foxes that I feel the need to write my first ever review. Buy this album now.
Mountain Magic - By: Miracle, 23 Sep 2008 I came to "Fleet Foxes" following a chance hearing at a second hand book & record store. Taking the plunge into unknown territory proved wonderfully rewarding, as this must easily be one of the finest albums of the past few years. Some, it appears, are aware of what is going on here in terms of derivation, but for me (and I daresay for many others) Fleet Foxes offer a fresh sound quite unlike anything else currently on the scene. The album conjures the vast sweeping imagery of a wild North American landscape filled with blue skies, snowy mountains, soaring eagles, lush greenery & fast flowing rivers - think "Jeremiah Johnson" meets tambourine-shaking man-choir backed by a battalion of acoustic guitars.
The multi-layered vocals & dreamy reverb-drenched sound perfectly compliment a fine set of songs that sport consistently winning tunes. "White Winter Hymnal" is a kind of modern nursery rhyme; "Ragged Wood" is a foot-stomping torch song in two movements; "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" is a haunting, if lyricallly obscure, lament of great beauty, & is followed by the upbeat melodic toe-tapper "Quiet Houses", which itself gives onto the suberbly poppy "He Doesn't Know Why". Other highlights include the striking lullaby "Meadowlarks" & the sophisticated "Blue Ridge Mountains", which sees the band firing on alll cylinders.
"Fleet Foxes" is the kind of record one discovers for oneself, & it reallly doesn't matter if anyone else gets the hang of it. Lie back & enjoy.
Magical and addictive - By: Anorak44, 18 Sep 2008 Like many other British reviewers, I suspect, I stumbled on this 'alternative folk' album by accident when listening to the audio channel on a longhaul BA flight. It was twinned with a Dennis Wilson (ex-Beach Boy) album which was a mistake as their sounds were so familiar (West Coast hippy harmonies) that initiallly I could not tell when one album finished & the other started. Note that Amazon claim that lots of customers are buying both albums together! But as I listened to the channel over & over again (it was a long flight) the Fleet Foxes half began to stand out & indeed to imprint itself on my subconscious. I bought the album as soon as I got back & have barely stopped listening since. It is a magical & addictive album that combines the pastoral (meadowlarks, talll grasses etc) with the ethereal (the other-worldly arrangements & soaring harmonies) & the sombre ("Staggering through premonitions of my death").
Some reviewers have criticised the first track (Sun It Rises) as out of character with the rest but I think this is one of those rare albums when there is not one weak track. In fact, I cannot pick a favourite as they are alll, in their own way, haunting & beautiful. Other reviewers have been been unimpressed by the tuning, arguing that in places the harmonies go awry. I have a good ear for these things & do not believe that one note is out of place on the album (but live might be different - see below). Yes, there is a rawness in the singing (especiallly Robin Pecknold's solo singing on "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" which, if pressed, I would probably offer as my favourite track), but this is part of the Fleet Foxes' rustic hippy charm.
I note that Fleet Foxes are touring the UK later this autumn & that the London dates are already sold out. There are still some tickets for gigs in the provinces, so get these while you can (I have). But I hope their live performances do not disappoint; the live performances which you can find on Youtube look quite weak & vocallly strained.
No album is perfect of course & my two minor criticisms of this album are (a) the diction is poor in places (I defy anyone to listen to 'Quiet Houses' & interpret the second chorus line as 'Don't give in' - it sound to me like 'darkie man'!) & (b) no lyrics are supplied with the CD. But these are minor quibbles. This is a brilliant album.
My new My Morning Jacket? (7.5/10) - By: Demob Happy, 10 Sep 2008 
I have been sitting on this review for a couple of months now, at a loss on what to say or how to start. Honestly I think that might be because I don't like this album as much as I wanted to, that it hasn't stirred the same inspiration in me as it has in others. Whether I have been handicapped by the massive hype bestowed upon this record I don't know, but as much as I love the new folk & country renaissance, I find this a little too trad, & slightly portentous in its reconstituted retro moods. I love the harmonies, the romantic poeticism of the lyrics & the organic glow of the record, but I find myself wanting for the more impressionistic musical touches of Bon Iver's `Emma, Forever Ago` or Iron & Wine's `Shepherd Dog`, to cite two favourites of the last two years.
Asides from the singular, joyous `White Winter Hymnal', I feel Fleet Foxes mine a particular territory explored thoroughly in the past by My Morning Jacket, before the Kentucky alt-country stalwarts decided to reinvent themselves in rather unappealing ways. Fleet Foxes's debut echoes a lot of Jim James & co.'s more plaintive, mellower moments, but without the variety that made these moments only one facet of MMJ's sound - not the whole article. Admittedly, those starving for James' heartbreaking ballladry (now that he has gone alll Prince on us) will find solace in this record, even if it only occasionallly reaches the level of MMJ's best.
True, I have not reallly reviewed this record on its own terms - not properly at alll, in fact - but as probably the last blogger on the planet to post a review of this record I don't think I'll change anyone's mind anyway. While there is much to admire about this record & some beautiful songs there is some magic ingredient missing that leaves it a little dry or staid to me. Put simply: there's just not enough here that you can't find on other records.
Cunning Foxes! - By: David Lusher, 03 Sep 2008 This is certainly an interesting album but it will not be to everyone's taste. I recommend that you forget the hype & just listen to it - this is one of those albums that you will either love immediately, or not. I would say that it takes a few listens & is well worth the effort. The vocals (and harmonies) are reallly lovely & the music is fresh & adventurous. The opening track does the rest of the album no favours; I found it more rewarding to start with track 2 & then listen on, returning to track 1 at the end (I hope that makes sense!). Well worth taking a chance on - each track is a surprise & there are not many albums around these days that deliver that.
