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Sunday Music Spotlight - Fleet Foxes

June 15, 2008 in Music, Spotlight by Sean | No comments

Fleet Foxes, an indie band from Seattle
If I tell you that a band out of Seattle gets signed to Sub Pop Records, you’ve probably got a pretty good idea of the type of music the band plays, right? They probably wear flannel, turn their guitars up to eleven, and sing heavy songs of angst and pain. Well Fleet Foxes is from Seattle, and they’re signed to Sub Pop, but they couldn’t be further from the cliche. They’re less Nirvana than Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. Less Pearl Jam than Buffalo Springfield. And less Soundgarden than The Byrds. In other words, they’re less grunge, more hippie. And all about the music.

Fleet Foxes frontman Robin Pecknold started playing guitar as a teenager. Like many aspiring musicians he started by covering the songs of artists he admired. His sister recalls one especially memorable time when he played Dylan’s “Boots of Spanish Leather” for her. But Pecknold wasn’t content to play other people’s songs. He quickly began writing his own songs, and along with friend Skye Skjelset began to flesh them out. After escaping high school the pair decided to form a proper band, so they rounded up local musicians and started practicing.

The newly-formed band played all around the Seattle music scene before rounding up all available funds to go into the studio. The resulting demo made its way into the hands of local legends Sub Pop Records, who snatched the band up. Under the label the band recorded their first EP, Sun Giant, and their first full album, Fleet Foxes.

Fleet Foxes - Ragged Wood

The first thing you hear in this song is the dominant element throughout most Fleet Foxes songs: lush, tight vocal harmonies. After that you get rustic-sounding accompaniment and catchy melodies. It all adds up to a great package of old techniques blended with solid songwriting.

Fleet Foxes - Tiger Mountain Peasant Song

This downtempo song features a simple acoustic guitar and melodic vocals. Pecknold’s voice dips and soars through what almost sounds like a medieval madrigal, updated for the 21st century.

Videos
“Mykonos”, live