Fleet Foxes are five. There are five of them, and they are from Seattle. They are, for lack of an eminently more marketable descriptor, a group trafficking in baroque harmonic pop. And the joy they derive in doing so is palpable. We feel it too. They are, self-described, not much of a rock band. With the help of credit cards, minimum wages, tip money, friends and family, Fleet Foxes crafted their first demo, and subsequently the Sun Giant EP and this debut full-length album, with family friend Phil Ek manning the rudder. Drawing influence from the traditions of folk music, pop, choral music and gospel, sacred harp singing, West Coast music, traditional music from Ireland to Japan, film scores, and their NW peers, Fleet Foxes ranges in subject matter from the natural world and familial bonds to bygone loves and stone cold graves. Robin Pecknold is in Fleet Foxes: “All we strove for with this record was to make something that was an honest reflection of who we are, citizens of the western United States who love all kinds of music and above all else love singing…” And we believe them.

The glorious gate-fold vinyl LP version, by the way, comes with a digital download code, AND includes the Sun Giant EP on a second, enclosed, largely complimentary (and certainly complementary) piece of vinyl! This, it seems worth mentioning, is was the only way to get Sun Giant on vinyl (until the Nov. 2018 release of First Collection 2006-2009)