With their self-titled full-length Subpop debut, Fleet Foxes have made an impressively confident and beautiful set of indie-folk tunes. While singer/guitarist Robin Pecknold’s warm, evocative voice clearly brings to mind My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, his tight vocal harmonies with other members of the band evoke vintage Beach Boys (”He Doesn’t Know Why”). And although the group’s gentle instrumentation and lo-fi aesthetic affectionately acknowledge 1960s/’70s british folk, they steer clear of self-consciously quirky “freak folk” meanderings, and opt instead for wonderfully crafted chamber-pop (”White Winter Hymnal”). One of the finest indie releases of 2008, Fleet Foxes casts an undeniably enchanting spell.

Produced by Phil Ek, whose many production credits include recent albums by The Shins and Band of Horses.

Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (p.82) – 4 stars out of 5 — “A lower-dosage Animal Collective, the Foxes stuff their free-form songs with rich, swirling melodies; bellowing clouds of organs…and bells and assorted stringed instruments…”

Rolling Stone (p.90) – Ranked #11 in Rolling Stone’s 50 Best Albums Of 2008 — “[T]he prettiest album of the year, and the warmest.”

Spin (p.108) – 4 stars out of 5 — “FLEET FOXES is warm and cathartic, with all the hopefulness of a balmy summer night.”

Spin (p.52) – Ranked #5 in Spin’s “40 Best Albums Of 2008″ — “Fleet Foxes distinguish themselves from the vintage-vinyl crowd by infusing their rootsy retro-pop moves with a sense of mystery…”

Entertainment Weekly (p.71) – “‘Ragged Wood’ moseys in on breezy harmonies, transforming the folk rock to beach pop in the pick of a high, tensile guitar string.” — Grade: A

Magnet (p.102) – “‘Ragged Wood’ begins with a shuffling twang, but before settling too deeply into the standard top-down AMericana, the song downshifts into a loose, lovesick midsection whose eventual peak feels as natural as it does surprising.”

Q (Magazine) (p.101) – 4 stars out of 5 — “[T]he quintet win solely on the strength of their complex but unaffectedly lovely songs….A pure pleasure.”

Mojo (Publisher) (p.73) – Ranked #1 in Mojo’s “The 50 Best Albums Of 2008″ — “A musical tonic of our times; a reminder of what humanity is capable of.”

Blender (Magazine) (p.72) – 3.5 stars out of 5 — “Fleet Foxes go for a somber, bombed-out hippy vibe, with acoustic guitars and five-part harmonies filling ‘White Winter Hymns’ and ‘Blue Ridge Mountains.’”

Paste (magazine) (p.65) – “[W]hat we take away from the album is less a collection of specific moments and more of a feeling. It’s like watching the sun rise over distant mountaintops, over and over, familiar and captivating all at once.”

Clash (magazine) (p.126) – “From the a capella opening to ‘White Winter Hymnal’ and the mature folk sensibility of ‘Tiger Mountain Peasant Song,’ this album heralds the arrival of an interesting, seductive and confidently singular sound.”

Clash (magazine) (p.64) – Ranked #25 in Clash’s “The 40 Best Albums of 2008″ — “Blending the sweetness and innocence of ’60s AM radio gems and Californian harmonies with shimmering, wide-open guitars, Fleet Foxes are a truly special band…”