Citing usual-suspect influences like Bob Dylan, Buffalo Springfield, Neil Young and the Beach Boys, Seattle folk-rock quintet Fleet Foxes certainly have their collective heart in the right place. But as an inspection of original tunes like “White Winter Hymnal,” “He Doesn’t Know Why” and “Blue Ridge Mountains” attests, Fleet Foxes take cues from a wider range of sources than perhaps the band is willing to admit. The group’s unerring harmonies and acoustic instrumentation make affectionate nods to Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys, while the Foxes’ haunting, autumnal melodies conjure the lamented specters of British folk-rock heroes including Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span.

As if their image wasn’t rooted enough in writ-large mythology, the Foxes record for the same Sub Pop label that spawned Nirvana, Soundgarden and the ’90s grunge insurrection. In fact, the only thing Fleet Foxes seem to lack is a marketing consultant. The band describes its music as "baroque harmonic pop jams" (a sobriquet that doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue).

Formed in 2006, Fleet Foxes coalesced when Robin Pecknold recruited guitarist Skyler Skjelset and keyboardist Casey Wescott, and eventually bassist Christian Wargo and drummer Joshua Tillman. After just a few local shows, the band generated a tremendous amount of label interest. Seattle producer Phil Ek (Built to Spill, the Shins) rushed Pecknold and his merry band to the studio, hammering out the EP Sun Giant, which was issued by Sub Pop in spring 2008. Their debut, full-length self-titled album was released mere months later, receiving four-stars from Rolling Stone. Even the curmudgeonly indie music blog Pitchfork Media gave the CD an uncustomary 9-out-of-10 review, and wrote of them: “Theirs is a studiously rural aesthetic … using reverb like sepia-tone to suggest something much older and more rustic than it really is.”

Provenance: Seattle, Washington

Latest Release: Fleet Foxes (2008)

© 2009 Nigel Music Media LLC. Used by permission.

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