Wednesday, October 1, 2008

old: Fleet Foxes

"A One Way Ticket On A First Class Airplane"

Everyone loves Fleet Foxes. Seriously. I love 'em so much this Saturday will be my fourth time seeing them live since March. That says a lot considering there are bands I've listened to for years and have never seen (Belle & Sebastian, Beck), or just recently saw for the first time (Built To Spill). Because the band has received much well deserved acclaim, I'm sort of surprised I haven't read anything about their first release. No, not Sun Giant, rather Fleet Foxes EP, or demo, that proceeded it in 2006. This may be because FF sound almost entirely different, and from my understanding, were a completely different band then, the only remaining members being singer/songwriter Robin Pecknold and guitarist Skyler Skjelset (?). The younger incarnation of Fleet Foxes touches on such universal themes as young love ("Textbook Love"), identity ("Anyone Who's Anyone") and roaming ("In The Hot, Hot Rays"), each of which serve as ex-post facto portraits of how the group found its sylvan folk sound. While it does not live up to, and should not be compared to, Sun Giant and Fleet Foxes LP, the EP serves as a logical stepping stone in the short career of a band I expect to be hearing a lot from for a long time. Their vision for the future is no more evident than on the closer, "Icicle Tusks", which is a clear sign of where the band was/is headed. Demo available as a .ZIP below. Enjoy!

Fleet Foxes 2006 EP/Demo

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