Posts Tagged ‘Fleet Foxes’


22.12.2008

Top 20 EPs of 2008 (1-10)

posted by Will

in Year End Lists

Click on album artwork for more.

#10 – Fleet Foxes “Sun Giant” (Sub Pop)

- I listened to the Sun Giant EP much more than I did the band’s following self-titled LP. Take that for what it’s worth.

#9 – The Gaslight Anthem “Señor and the Queen” 2×7″ (Sabot)

- Simply put, this band can do no wrong.

#8 – Shuteye Unison “Self-Titled” (Parks And Records)

- Moody, atmospheric indie rock played with huge intentions.

#7 – Little Lungs “Hoist Me Up!” (Self-Released)

- From the ashes of Each Others Mothers and Tin Kitchen comes Little Lungs. Pieces of those bands exist here but Little Lungs throw in a more punk rock approach.

#6 – Lanterns “Apocalypse Youth” (Self-Released)

- Huge pop hooks buried underneath swirling guitars. Lanterns are Trail of Dead without the pretension.

#5 – Dinomania “Text Messages” (Bark And Hiss)

- I was addicted to these songs upon my first listen. Not sure what the future holds for this mysterious outfit but I hope it includes more music in 09!

#4 – Tin Armor “Self-Titled” 7″ (Whoa Oh)

- Tin Armor are what Smoking Popes once were. Yeah, I said it!

#3 – Look Mexico “Gasp Asp” 7″ (Tiny Engines)

- The first release on the label I started with some buddies. I already loved Look Mexico but these songs cement the band as one of my favorites! And they’re super cute too!

#2 – Iron Chic “Demo” Tape (Dead Broke)

- Do you miss Latterman? You shouldn’t after hearing the first five songs from Iron Chic. So amazingly good!

#1 – Annabel “Now That We’re Alive” (Self-Released)

- I listened to Now That We’re Alive so many times this past year. I feel incredibly privileged to have worked with the band for Beartrap. Debut LP upcoming…stoked!

20.12.2008

SAL Reader Year End List

posted by Will

in Year End Lists

#1

Dillinger Four “C I V I L W A R” – 8 votes

#2

Bridge And Tunnel “East/West” – 6 votes
Constantines “Kensington Heights” – 6 votes

#3

Death Cab For Cutie “Narrow Stairs” – 5 votes
Fleet Foxes “Self-Titled” – 5 votes
The Gaslight Anthem “The ‘59 Sound” – 5 votes

#4

Able Baker Fox “Voices” – 4 votes
Algernon Cadwallader “Some Kind Of Cadwallader” – 4 votes
Polar Bear Club “Sometimes Things Just Disappear” – 4 votes
Torche “Meanderthal” – 4 votes

#5

Beach House “Devotion” – 3 votes
Cheap Girls “Find Me A Drink Home” – 3 votes
Drive-By Truckers “Brighter Than Creation’s Dark” – 3 votes
Foals “Antidotes” – 3 votes
Fucked Up “The Chemistry of Common Life” – 3 votes
Good Luck “Into Lake Griffy” – 3 votes
Scream Hello “Everything is Always Still Happening” – 3 votes

18.12.2008

Matt M’s Top Ten

posted by Will

in Year End Lists

Matt Morrell – Washington DC

Albums:

1. the Mountain Goats – Heretic Pride
2. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
3. David Byrne & Brian Eno – Everything that Happens will Happen Today
4. Bob Dylan – Tell Tale Signs
5. She & Him – Vol. 1
6. Randy Newman – Harps and Angels
7. Margot and The Nuclear So and So’s – Not Animal
8. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
9. Death Cab for Cutie – Narrow Stairs
10. Santogold – Santogold

Songs:

1. BPA (ft. David Byrne) – Toe Jam
2. the Mountain Goats & Kaki King – Thank You Mario But Our Princess is In Another Castle
3. David Byrne & Brian Eno – Strange Overtones
4. Damien Jurado – Gillian Was a Horse
5. Bob Dylan – Mississippi (the first version on Tell Tale Signs)
6. MGMT – Time to Pretend
7. Randy Newman – A Few Words in Defense of Our Country
8. She & Him – Sentimental Heart
9. Vampire Weekend – M79
10. Conor Oberst – Lenders in the Temple

www.myspace.com/mattmorrellmusic

16.12.2008

Nathan’s Top Ten

posted by Will

in Year End Lists

Nathan Burke – The Out_Circuit – Seattle, WA

1. John Theodore Burke (dob 8/26/08)
2. Fleet Foxes – s/t
3. Beach House – Devotion
4. Dark Knight
5. Wall E
6. At the Gates reunion tour
7. Am I allowed to put my own record?  Might seem vain, but hey it was a lot of hard work.
8. Thrice – Alchemy Index 3&4
9. Iphone
10. nothing

15.12.2008

Adam’s Top Ten

posted by Will

in Year End Lists

Adam Newton – Dryvetyme Onlyne – Houston, TX

Beach House – Devotion
Buxton – A Family Light
Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
Hercules & Love Affair – Hercules & Love Affair
Lil Wayne – Tha Carter III
M83 – Saturdays = Youth
Portishead – Third
Spiritualized – Songs in A&E
TV On The Radio – Dear Science
A Weather – Cove

- You can check out Adam’s full list here.

13.12.2008

Mrs. SAL’s Top Eleven

posted by Will

in Year End Lists

Megan Mulligan – Columbia, SC

Annabel – Now That We’re Alive
The Decemberists – Always The Bridesmaid: Vol. 1-3
Colour Revolt – Plunder, Beg and Curse
Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
Kings of Leon – Only By The Night
Sun Kil Moon – April
City and Colour – Bring Me Your Love
The Gaslight Anthem – Señor and The Queen & The ’59 Sound
Death Cab for Cutie – Narrow Stairs
Sigur Rós– Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
The Daylight Hours – How To Make A Mess Of Things

- Megan gets eleven cause, well, you know. – Will.

11.12.2008

Chase’s Top Ten

posted by Will

in Year End Lists

Chase Turberville – Fairhope, AL

10. the helio sequence – keep your eyes ahead
09. girl talk – feed the animals
08. bon iver – for emma, forever ago
07. the walkmen – you & me
06. tv on the radio – dear science
05. dr. dog – fate
04. drive-by truckers – brighter than creation’s dark
03. blitzen trapper – furr
02. constantines – kensington heights
01. fleet foxes – fleet foxes

11.11.2008

Fleet Foxes: Self-Titled

posted by Will

in Music Reviews

Bunch of hippies! Yup, Fleet Foxes burst onto the scene earlier this year with their fantastic debut EP, Sun Giant. Quickly to follow is the band’s debut self-titled full-length which is almost as impressive. It really is hard to believe how wet behind the ears Fleet Foxes still are. You would never know it as the band sounds like they have been putting out records for years and years now. With a sound that echoes My Morning Jacket, The Shins and Band Of Horses, Fleet Foxes are adding their own spin to this brand of Americana-laced pop. There is a definite gospel influence in Fleet Foxes soulful sound. That’s mainly because of the rich vocals of front man Robin Pecknold. His vocals and lyrical imagery provide a solid backdrop for the band to add their colorful instrumental touches around. Credit goes to veteran producer Phil Ek as well as the record sounds wonderfully textured. Fleet Foxes possess a timeless nature to their music as many of these songs sound like they could have come straight out of the 60’s. While I enjoyed the Sun Giant EP a bit more, Fleet Foxes have put forth out a strong album full of wide open spaces and intoxicating harmonies. Bunch of damn hippies!

Genre: Indie/Americana/Pop

RIYL: My Morning Jacket, Band Of Horses, The Shins

Label: Sub Pop

White Winter Hymnal

02%20White%20Winter%20Hymnal.mp3

He Doesn’t Know Why

06%20He%20Doesn%27t%20Know%20Why.mp3

www.myspace.com/fleetfoxes

22.04.2008

Random Sounds

posted by Will

in Random Sounds

Oh, the Playlist has been updated.

Mock Orange “Song In D” (Congrats to the band and Wednesday Records on their new collaboration!)

songind.mp3

Radar Bros. “Slack Motherfucker” (A little cover song by some unknown indie rock band.)

slackmotherfucker.mp3

Langhorne Slim “Rebel Side Of Heaven”

LS_Rebel_Side_of_Heaven.mp3

No Age “Eraser”

4260.mp3

Fleet Foxes “White Winter Hymnal”

02WhiteWinterHymnal.mp3

09.04.2008

Fleet Foxes: Sun Giant EP

posted by Will

in Best New Music, Music Reviews

fleetfoxes.jpg

Fleet Foxes needs no more critical acclaim. The band have not even released a full-length yet (their debut, Ragged Wood, is out in May on Sub Pop) but thanks to the power of the world wide web, they are well on their way to a great musical career. Really though, it’s not about just hype in this particular case. On the band’s debut EP, Sun Giant, Fleet Foxes write haunting, moving pop that carves out it’s own special niche. The reverb soaked vocals of Robin Pecknold certainly remind one of Jim James of My Morning Jacket at times. Both vocalists are pulling from different eras. They are just as much old R&B as they are Americana. You can not teach soul and both James and Pecknold have that. Granted, Fleet Foxes aren’t a rock band like My Morning Jacket though. That’s not Fleet Foxes game and these five songs never feel lacking because of it. They band knows they simply do not need to beat you over the head to get their point across. Instead these songs float in and out with beautiful melodies. Sun Giant is subtle and succinct. The soaring vocals of Pecknold do lead the way but the band crafts out some gorgeous musical landscapes behind him. If Sun Giant is any indication, let me offer a warning, you might be sick of hearing the name Fleet Foxes by the end of 2008.

Genre: Indie/Pop

RIYL: My Morning Jacket, Band Of Horses, The Shins

Label: Sub Pop

English House

03englishhouse.mp3

www.myspace.com/fleetfoxes

03.04.2008

Music Review – Grand Archives

posted by Will

in Mp3, Music, Music Reviews

Grand Archives “The Grand Archives” (Sub Pop)

grandarchives.jpg

I think Sub Pop must have a trademark on this sound. Grand Archives, like another newer Sub Pop band, Fleet Foxes share a great deal of similarities to older Sub Pop bands like Band Of Horses and The Shins. Once you find something that works, you might as well stick with it, right? On to the music, you have to admire a musician who leaves a successful band to start his own musical journey. From the ashes of Carissa’s Wierd, Mat Brooke and Ben Bridwell formed Band of Horses. When it became apparent that Band Of Horses was going to be primarily Bridwell’s songwriting vehicle, Brooke left to explore his own path. Enter Grand Archives.

Grand Archives breezes by with ten songs of warm, intimate indie pop. Grand Archives are certainly mining a lighter territory than Bridwell and Band Of Horses. Because of that soft rock characteristic, it sounds as if the band is barely breaking a sweat. Besides the great album opener, “Torn Blue Foam Couch,” the haunting “Sleepdriving” and the misstep into melodrama that is “The Crime Window,” the album has a tendency to just float by unnoticed. Sure, it all sounds natural and even likable but it also fails to leave much of a lasting impression.

I find it all kind of ironic that Bridwell and Brooke couldn’t bare to share songwriting duties. Cause there are a huge amount of similarities between both bands and you have to wonder what the duo might have been capable of if they had stayed together. But, I guess that is neither here nor there at this point. Both have created their own strong entities. There is no doubt that Bridwell has found his niche with Band Of Horses. I expect Brooke and Grand Archives to do the same in the future. Til then though, The Grand Archives is just a pleasant record, nothing more and nothing less.

Genre: Indie/Rock/Pop

RIYL: The Shins, Band Of Horses, Fleet Foxes

Torn Blue Foam Couch

[audio http://www.subpop.com/assets/audio/4009.mp3]

www.myspace.com/grandarchives

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