Seattle band Fleet Foxes had me fooled. Hearing a few of their tracks, I could’ve sworn they were new songs from My Morning Jacket. And it’s an easy mistake to make: Both bands share a rollicking ’70s folk-rock sensibility layered with delicate harmonies. But Fleet Foxes has a ways to go before they reach the heights of MMJ; their self-titled debut album is a nice start, but doesn’t quite live up to the comparison.
Album opener “Sun It Rises” lays the groundwork for what’s to come with warm organs, churning guitars, and that wall of gauzy harmonies. “White Winter Hymnal” gets a little peppy, approaching the folk-pop of The Shins. But mostly the formula holds: The Band-style country rock jams underneath Beach Boys-esque harmonies. “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song” and “Oliver James” strip down to just singer Robin Pecknold’s vocals and acoustic guitar, but they feel slight by comparison; Fleet Foxes are at their best when they’re at their biggest, when the vocals weave together with an army of instruments in grand fashion.
Problem is, the beauty of the harmonies tends to overwhelm any lyrical content the songs might have. It’s as if the band were more concerned about how the vocals sounded than what they actually said. So a lot of rustic imagery gets thrown around, but never really sticks. (Songs like “Quiet Houses” don’t get much deeper than “Come to me, come to me… Lay me down, lay me down…”) And as a result, the album remains a little more distant than it should: pleasant enough, but not a real grabber.
That said, there are some glimpses of real beauty here. The lush harmonies carry the album, lending even wordless songs like “Heard Them Stirring” a sense of purpose. And if Fleet Foxes write some lyrics someday to match those harmonies, they could really have something. (If you like what you hear, check out their Sun Giant EP, with what might be their best song, the epic “Mykonos.”)
Fleet Foxes’ self-titled debut is out now on Sub Pop Records; I give it an 6.
Recommended If You Like: My Morning Jacket, Band of Horses, CSNY
