Fleet Foxes made one of the best albums of 2008. In my opinion, the very best. There are many reasons for that. The lyrics, the melodies, and their beautiful harmonies all merge together to form an incredible sound. Still, the most important reason is what all of it creates together. It can be described with a single word; durability.
Since I heard it for the first time about a year and a half ago, I still haven’t gone tired of this album whatsoever. It has something special that just never gets tiresome. Another thing I really like about the album is their sound. Sounding more like something from the sixties, but with better sound quality, they have a warm and clear sound, where all the instruments can be heard clearly, in all their glory, though that is also thanks to great production.
It starts quietly and a cappella with “Sun It Rises”, before turning into something of a psychedelic folk-jam, where you can feel a similarity to the likes of CSNY. The second song, “White Winter Hymnal” is a little masterpiece of two minutes. It’s a happy and joyful song that can remind you a bit of Beach Boys, but still has a completely different sound. It continues with the perfect spring-hymnal “Ragged Wood”, which starts quite suddenly with guitar picking and vocal harmonies, before the whole band comes in and it’s like when the ice water starts flowing down from the mountain. You can almost see the water flowing and feel the growing heat.
A little later, “Your Protector” opens with a flute-preludium, before Robin Pecknold, completely alone, starts to sing. He sings a loney verse before the rest of the band joins in on this fireworks of a song. One of the things I like most with the whole album is the drums one this one. Sounding more like kettle drums than a regular drum kit, it fills the background so perfectly. In combination with the whole composition, the drums make it all so big, bold and grandiose.
The song that stands out most on the whole album is “Blue Ridge Mountains”, which might just be the best song of 2008. The first time I heard it was in late March, driving through the dark forests of Odal with my family. It had been snowing all day and everything was as white as Erlend Øye’s skin. The spruces were filled with snow, everything looked like it was made of ice, trees all looking like fragile crystal. The song starts with quiet harmonies I almost couldn’t hear thanks to the noises of the car (I was using the car stereo), but when the mandolin and piano came in loud and clear, as a contrast to the quiet harmonies, and the song really begun, it was like magic. I got goosebumps all over, it was just so beautiful. When the last chorus came, I almost got some sort of epiphany, becoming so aware of the beautiful landscape and the snowflakes falling on the car. The song is so great, so marvelous.
The whole album finishes off with the song “Oliver James”, which is quite different from the rest of the album. It’s hard to describe. It’s Robin Pecknold alone with his acoustic guitar, but it isn’t like the other acoustic songs on the album. The song is like an early morning in the mountains. You’re living in a little shack of a cabin, you wake up, go out bare feet. It’s spring and you feel the wet grass under your feet, you look down on a green valley filled with birch and spruce. In the end there’s just Pecknold’s voice alone, and the song just slowly disappears between the trees.
All in all, from the first tones of ” Sun It Rises” to the last of “Oliver James”, where the sun sets, the album is great. From quiet to loud, from sad to joyfull. And it’s perfect for every season, and almost every mood. It’s just one of those albums you’ll remember. If you want more, I’d recommend their EP, Sun Giant, which is almost like a prequel to the album. Fleet foxes are awesome.