Healthy Living Books Music

Rating: - A Breath of Fresh Air
This album, by Seattle band Fleet Foxes, is, in my opinion, a complete and utter musical breath of fresh air. This band, a hybrid combination of The Beach Boys and 90s alternative rock, are truly as inspirational as they are individual. With the music of the moment repetitive, dull and lacking creativity of any kind, it is simply marvellous to hear an exciting band with such elegance in their sound. Excellent use of harmonies, and breezy medlodies encapsulate this release, which features a wide variety of tracks, that upon each listen endear themselves more to the listener. A true classic, this album will hopefully catapult a talented and original band of musicians to the success they so rightfully deserve. If not, then the music purchasing public are clearly mad, or deluded.

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Rating: - Like Crosby Stills & Nash doing The Cocteau Twins......i think.
Fleet Foxes describe their sound on their My Space page as "Baroque harmonic pop jams" which on listening to their album strikes me as spot on. And who would know better than them they anyway? I've also seen them described as like The Beach Boys if they were a folk band which is also a pretty good description. I think they sound like The Polyphonic Spree if they had decided to do with voices what My Bloody Valentine did with guitars.
All of which descriptive overload leads me to compare them to various contemporary bands -Midlake, The Besnard Lakes, Arcade Fire , Mercury Rev and The Flaming Lips though in truth none of them comes as close as I'd like so I don't know why I bothered. Think Crosby Stills And Nash trying to copy The Cocteau Twins if they knew them from press cuttings only......damm I'm back doing that descriptive thing again.
That's what a band as singular as Fleet Foxes does to you. You listen , you marvel and while you are marvelling you try to get a handle on what it is that makes them so special and you end up , especially for the purposes of a review ,writing florid descriptions and making spurious comparisons in order to communicate to any would be readers what you have listened to.
So they do that really cool multi harmonic voice thing over crystalline guitar chords , undulating percussion and hazy slabs of keyboard. Songs like "Sun It Rises" , "Ragged Wood" , "Quiet Houses" "White Winter Hymnal" and "He Doesn't Know Why" which is like rock & roll re-imagined as decorative pop , show this off to full soniferous effect. It veers off to the pastoral delights of "Heard Them Stirring " while a giddy flute flits in and out of the acoustic led stomper "Your Protector". "Meadowlarks" is a lovely balled with reverb drenched vocals and dew heavy dappled guitar while on "Oliver James" the voice of Robin Pecknold takes riveting centre stage.
Im not especially taken with the sparse "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" but it's really the only blatant mis-step on an album gorged with choral delights and some spanking tunes. Neither is the album the most immediate which is why I suspect it's got some less than favourable reviews. It's either that or there are a lots of ears around that need syringing . Fleet Foxes requires a certain amount of patience and dedication but it rewards that most handsomely . It's a wonderful album and I ,ve just twigged who they remind me of the most ....Panda Bear who released one of the albums of 2007 with "Person Pitch". Panda's and foxes, a shared inclination for nature and two living breathing marvels.

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Rating: - Almost great. My dilemma.
I truly love these songs and the baroque-pop ambition of this band, but less so some aspects of performance and production. The much-commented harmonies are mostly good, but Ihave my doubts about the pitching on a few (i.e. Heard Them Stirring), and if you're going to do this style, they need to be spot on. Don't they have software for this? Turning down the reverb would have helped this generally crude production. (e. g. the otherwise beautiful Meadowlarks). So sadly my favourite CD so far this year is marred by a poor production and that's what keeps it from 5 stars.

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Rating: - Not for everyone, but still a classic
Pet Sounds, London Calling, OK Computer...the list goes on.

There are many albums regarded as 'classics' by music journalists and musicians which are then 'found out' by listeners who tell us not to believe the hype, and that the albums are really not as good as people says they are.

"One Star from me, what a load of over-hyped tripe!"

Blah, blah, blah.

Anyhow, I'm going to nail my colours to the mast now and say that this is a cracking album, full of great songs and excellent arrangements.

But it may not be to everyone's taste - just as OK Computer may not be to everyone's taste.

Does that mean it is any less of a great album? Of course not, but everyone has a right to an opinion.

So, if you enjoy music by bands such as Arcade Fire, The Beach Boys, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Nick Drake...then you will love this. The big standout track for me being White Winter Hymnal. In fact, its worth trying to get an advance listen to this song before buying as, if it doesn't get you, then the rest of the album won't.

Simple as that.

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Rating: - A gentle, breezy grower.
If you are looking for a heavy dose of testosterone-fuelled rock and roll from this Seattle 5-piece, you've come to the wrong place.

Folky west-coast melodies, sweet harmonies, light voices singing a capella... that's what you've got with this Fleet Foxes album. They describe it themselves as "baroque harmonic pop". However you categorise it, it's a very long way from the 'grunge' sound that their hometown is still (even after all these years) known for. They are far from a pushover though... they stole the show at this years SXSW festival and have had our music critics praising their live shows before they had released this fantastic album. Although theirs is not your typical "biggest band in the world" type of sound, Fleet Foxes are almost guaranteed to be namechecked in interviews by the Thom Yorke's, Chris Martin's and Win Butler's of this world.

There are many highpoints of this first full-length release, but "White Winter Hymnal", which strangely but effectively starts with the band singing 'in the round', the ridiculously catchy pop of "He Doesn't Know Why", the angelic harmonies of "Oliver James" and the uplifting "Quiet Houses" are all standouts.

A great summer record. A fantastic debut album.