Fleet Foxes

This is the kind of stuff that I almost hate, but don't. The music itself is okay-ish. It's kinda dull and there's a million bands out there like them. It seems pretty soulless. It's folksy music for people that are not salt of the Earth people at all. It's for people that grew up in nice, pre-packaged communities and then want to pretend they have a damn thing in common with the average Joe. Sorry. I might've been projecting from personal experience there. Tl;dr: it's folk music for people from the suburbs that want to cosplay as working class. The band itself is lukewarm. It's not awful but it's not good either and it just feels so inauthentic and plastic.

I’m so upset with myself for never jumping on the Fleet Foxes hype train when I had the chance, because this album as absolutely incredible. Every vocal harmony impeccable, every note perfectly placed. This album feels like looking at a masterfully crafted wood carving. It feels like it takes the best bits of each of the year’s seasons and rolls them into one. Not only is this a 5, but I think it firmly has a place among my favorite records now.

On one hand, every song on this record is extremely well produced, with a clear and sharp sound and epic vocals. Standout songs for me are Sun It Rises, White Winter, Ragged Wood and Quiet Houses. However, there is very little for me to gain in listening to any more. I am dissapointed by the variety, a lack of tight instrumentals, and an unengaging theme. Because it leans a bit too much on vocals for my taste and I find myself getting tired of the choir-boy indie esthetic after a couple of songs, I feel it deserves a 6/10.

This is like open heart surgery from the point of view of the heart. Painful, uncomfortable, but with just the right amount of sexual tension. It's a noose around an unborn baby's neck. A sex tape set in a cancer ward. Crying whilst fingering your twin sister.

Um hi yes I’m obsessed with this album cover it’s gorgeous what is it. Apparently it’s by Peter Bruegel the Elder which makes since because I love his work. I hope I like this so I can buy it on vinyl just for the cover. 1. This is pretty 2. I have no idea what this is about but it’s pretty - I’ve decided it’s about little snow foxes wearing cute red scarves. 3. Pretty, this is soothing. 4. Oooh a minor key? 5. I really thought they were saying donkey man. Glad they aren’t. 6. “Memory is a fickle siren’s song” great line. 7. Pretty 8. I love this sort of sound - I have no idea what any of this album is about but it’s super pretty sounding 9. This sounds melancholic- very pretty though 10. This is a good album to listen to while you’re laying in bed at night. Calming, soothing, pretty, kinda zen. 11. It’s just a pretty album I guess I’m finally going to go listen to Shore now

One of my favorite albums by probably my favorite band. I started listening to this album on the way to Santa Cruz maybe around when it came out. I was in middle school, and my best friend’s older sister put it on as she took us on the 3 hour drive to the boardwalk. It was the only CD we listened to the entire trip, and I’m not complaining. I have such nostalgia surrounding this! We laughed and swore we would learn to play Blue Ridge Mountains. I was told I could do the timpani or whatever instrument that is before, “in the quavering forestttt” chorus... I love this album with all my heart. I haven’t gone a year, month, and probably even week without listening to at least one of the songs off this album.

Save it for a coming of age indie movie. It's alright, not offensive, but you're just never going to blow your load whilst it's on, are you? Or am I...? I did.

The sweetie-poo folk revival was never to my taste. Too earnest and hookless, but worse than that it's preening and genteel. Pop music is the language of semiotics, and what this communicates is a disdain for the city, the market, vulgarity. All healthy in doses, but in this quantity I sense puritanism. That said, they're very good players, occasionally turn their talents to picking good tunes, and aren't preachy.

*exactly my style of music *can't believe i hadn't listen to them before

Phenomenal debut, with masterfully crafted folk / chamber pop songs. Sounds like a solid mix between CSNY & The Beach Boys ‘Pet Sounds.’ STANDOUTS: -White Winter Hymnal -Ragged Wood -Tiger Mountain Peasant Song -Quiet Houses -He Doesn’t Know Why -Your Protector -Blue Ridge Mountains

An album for simpler days, quite beautiful.

Did these come before or after Mumford & Sons? It's very Mumford & Sons. Fairly dull folk tinged indie. Thank God this lot and their ilk didn't take over the world as it briefly looked like they would in the early 2010s. Strong album cover though.

As if the Mumfords were trying to pick up girls by demonstrating their deep sensitivity. Maudlin and over-produced but not in a good way. And yet, so precisely of its era that it's hard not to like it just a little bit

Imagine if the classic prog rock group, Yes, and the classic folk rock trio, Peter, Paul, & Mary, gave birth to a band of children, only to discover that they were a little tone deaf. Introducing, Fleet Foxes. Variously described as Indie folk and Baroque or Chamber pop (this is a new one for me, folks)- ‘a musical genre that combines rock music with the intricate use of strings, horns, piano, and vocal harmonies, and other components drawn from the orchestral and lounge pop of the 1960s, with an emphasis on melody and texture.’ Sounds good, if only 'Fleet Foxes' had been able to deliver. If this is an example of chamber pop, I would suggest a chambermaid to clean up the mess. A bullet into the chamber of a gun would be overkill. I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Lyrically, the cover painting says it all, as a glance at the song titles will confirm: ‘Tiger Mountain Peasant Song,’ and ‘Meadowlarks,’ and such. You get it. And our lead minstrel, of course, goes by the name of Robin. No foolin’. One can only hope he’s better with a bow and arrow than he is with a mic. Robin was better in the lower registers, but as he climbed in pitch, he got pitchier. In fact the whole group’s harmonies, shrill and frequent, were also all over the medieval map. And the very heavy echo on the voices only sustained the bum notes. ‘Heard Them Stirring,’ for example, was three painful minutes of only oohs and aahs, no lyrics whatsoever as a balm for the hurting harmonies. Furthermore, there was very little instrumentally of which to speak, which would have at least provided a merciful relief to the vocals. The final track, ‘Oliver James’- the bleak tale of a poor chap who died down by the river and was brought back home to be laid on the kitchen table in preparation for burial- ended with an acapella vocal by Robin: ‘Oliver James, washed in the rain, no longer.’ And, bless his heart, he was giving it all he had, the passion was there; but, alas. Fleet Foxes, I was washed in your harmonies for thirty-nine minutes and 15 long seconds… but, no longer. Whew.

Think of the sheer STAGGERING quality of this band. This is probably only the second or third best Fleet Foxes record, and yet it's a nearly flawless 5 Star album. Most bands would be beyond lucky and happy to have a "White Winter Hymnal" or "Blue Ridge Mountains" as their opus. This band has BOTH of those, and they might not even be the best song from this era of the group! Incredible, incredible stuff.

4.3 + Haunting, majestic, uplifting - like watching the sun rise over a mountain, gradually spreading light over the rocky crags and dissipating the frigid mist.

Bought it when it first came out based on reviews, never listened much. Now I know why. Damn this record is boring. Not a hook in sight. Beach Boys influenced? Nothing they ever produced is this boring, and I’ve listened to M.I.U. I might be overstating the case, but regardless this album is what purgatory must feel like - 39 minutes that feels like forever, trapped under a dome (echoes!) in the world’s worst renaissance fair.

Indie folk-rock that explores the intersection of pastoral and somnolent. Like a lot of things, how much I like it depends on my mood. I loved it today but could totally see myself smashing the OFF button with glee if I were a little more stressed or cynical. My son said it sounded like Lord of The Rings Holiday music. More specifically, like what you might hear at a Dwarven Castle Keep.

At first I thought this was kinda like listening to the mammas and the Pappas. Later on I thought it was kinda like listening to the same song on repeat.

I can’t think of another album I’ve gotten so far that I could so perfectly summarize as “Not for me.” I hate this era of twee, faux-woodsy, fake Bohemian, quaint, sparse, nothingness folk music. I hated it when it was popular, I hated everything it influenced in the 2010s, I hate it today. I find it not only disengaging, but also annoying and snobby. To me, it feels contrived. And everything about Fleet Foxes and their debut falls under this argument. I have no desire to listen to it ever, and I became actively angry as I listened to it, because it kept giving me nothing. Yet, I’ve heard way worse albums here, and I can’t deny that this is, from a crafts perspective, well-made. I can see glimpses of moments where I could’ve maybe latched on to something here, they just never materialized into something fully fleshed out for me, instead committing to a sparse and thin aesthetic that I can’t get behind in folk music. And while that’s not enough for me to praise it, it’s also not fair for me to deny its value. In so many words, Fleet Foxes by Fleet Foxes is very much not for me.

#360. Just more hipster folk drivel, that just sounds exactly like all the rest of the hipster folk on the list. The album cover is pretty cool. I really like that. 2/5: meh

What if you took Simon & Garfunkel and CSN&Y and (somehow) made it better? This album manages to take a sound that was already pretty much perfect and somehow makes it better. The singing and harmonising are extraordinary and He Doesn’t Know Why never fails to bring me out in goosebumps. I remember stumbling across Fleet Foxes on Jools Holland’s show once and instantly falling in love in a way that has happened with very few bands.

When I refreshed the page this morning and saw this album pop up on my screen I was so immensely happy. This is one of my favorite albums of all time and Fleet Foxes one of my top bands. To put it in perspective, 5 of the 11 songs are in my daily playlist (10 total by the band), and 4 made it to the playlist I made for my mom to get a better grasp on the music I love. All that to say it is an instant 5 for me and I am more than happy to give it another listen through with some long listening notes (song by song time! WOOT WOOT!). "Sun It Rises" - I love the traditional folk vocal intro to set the pace of the album in a way. The guitar intro is fun and uplifting and the ethereal vocals on the rest of the song fit my listening style of treating the voice as an instrument and not noticing lyrics right away quite well. The outro riff gives me a almost strokes vibe. "White Winter Hymnal" - It sounds like they are making an indie folk cover of a traditional folk song, but no its an original. I do love the Pentatonix version of this one too. "Ragged Wood" - This is one of the best songs on the album, certainly a departure from the first two song in terms of rhythm and BPM, it plays to its favor though pulling you back in after you drift off to dreamland during "White Winter Hymnal". The bass on this song is fantastic when it is poking through in the energetic parts it is captivating and then a simple but not overbearing bass solo as it then builds instrument on instrument back to that energy. I have listened to this song 62 times according to Spotistats and have never really had the reaction I just had to the bass on that song and I processed some of the vocals in a way I hadn't before. It sounds cheesy, but that moved me. Maybe it was listening through my studio headphones instead of speakers for once but it was amazing. "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" - This goes back to that traditional folk sound of the doubled guitars making a harp like sound is just purely gorgeous. When they sync up for a measure or two at a time it brings the contrast of the two together. It reminds me of the composition of Simon & Garfunkel's "Scarborough Fair/Canticle". The near shouted vocals on the what I guess you could call choruses have such a visceral feeling to them. "Quiet House" - This is probably my least favorite track on the album. It has amazing instrumentation to it especially that bass it really pulls the other parts together. The "Don't give in" section is what really throws me off, I just hear "Donkey Man" over and over again. The guitar on the outro is also very fantastic. I still really like the track just not my favorite. "He Doesn't Know Why" - I can't quite place my finger on it but the vocals on the intro reminds me so much of another song. It has bothered me since the first time I heard this song and still does. Great song with more great instrumentation. I love the in sync rests they do just before the bridge. "Heard Them Stirring" - I don't have too much to say about this one. It is a good filler track. I don't have strong feelings either way it is just a meditative respite in the middle of the album. "Your Protector" - Another of my favorites. The vocal and flute intro is very gently powerful. The build of the chugging cymbal leading into the bass dig in and then an explosion of instrumentation. There is so much to dissect in this song and I love it more and more each time. "Meadowlarks" - Another one of my lower listen count songs. I love the guitar part under the vocals. They work as two different songs in one that just fit with each other. The chorus of vocals that come in for the middle of the song are very relaxing. The song as a whole is very relaxing. A little too low energy for it to be on my everyday playlist, but I love it. "Blue Ridge Mountains" - The song named for my favorite place on this planet. Is it my favorite for that reason or because it is just an amazing and beautiful song. A little combination. I do prefer the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina but close enough. Another traditional folk sound on the intro. I close my eyes and I am taken there while listening. I can't wait to go back. It is the most beautiful and peaceful places I have ever been. Its fitting for one of the best Indie Folk albums to have a song about part of Appalachia one of the birthplaces of American music and particularly folk. Everybody should drive at least part of the Blue Ridge Parkway in their life. The rolling blue mountains for as far as the eye can see just have the most beautiful calming aspect. "Oliver James" - Another "lowlight" of the album for me. Doesn't mean it isn't a good song I just wish it was in a different spot and it ended with the fade out of "Blue Ridge Mountains". I was going to try to provide a little bit of an objective review at the end but that will not be possible. This is a top 10 album for me all time. It is just a beautiful indie folk album that is in my opinion and absolute must listen before you die. If for some reason you are still reading my long winded review I highly recommend that you listen to A Very Lonely Solstice by Fleet Foxes. It is one of my favorite live recorded albums I have ever heard. It certainly benefits from being recorded with no audience during COVID so not a live album in the typical way. I love this album, I love this band, I was having a stressful week and this just melted so much of my stress away.

10. I don't really think it's objectively a 10, but that's what I'm rating it anyway

I love love love this album. I used to listen to it so much when I lived in Ottawa on Blackburn and then on Argyle. I would bike with my headphones in and sing this album sooooo loud! Thanks for the good listen.

Have listened to this album a million times. Have it on vinyl. Love it with all my heart adn will relisten soon...

Still holds up. Blue Ridge Mountains still stuck in my head.

Listening to this, I felt like I was at a local music festival and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the local music. After listening, I immediately listened to Mountain Man's "Boat" to hear something similar but much better. Not sure why this album's on this list.

What was going on in the late 2000s? Why were pastiche sea shanties, skiffle and Gregorian chants on every hipster's iPod? I'm quite glad I missed much of it, the case in favor made here is pretty thin. A disappointment after the earlier "Mykonos" (a relative banger) pointed towards a more tuneful and less precious evolution

I really love this album - it’s one I had forgotten about until this challenge, I was so happy hearing it again after so long! Fleet Foxes was on high rotation for me in the late naughties along with other indie folk revival musicians like Angus and Julia Stone, Joanna Newsom and Beirut. A whimsical time in my life - starting my dream job post uni, before becoming a mother and the change of pace that brings (Of course at the time I didn't realise how magical this season was!) Back to the music - I really enjoy the harmonies, powerful vocals and mostly acoustic instrumentals. Tiger Mountain Peasant Song is particularly burned into my memory as one I'd listen to on repeat riding my bike to work - its probably still on my ipod shuffle somewhere. Sad that my copy of this album got lost somewhere in the many house moves of my 20s, but happy to rediscover it in the age of streaming! Its aged pretty well, but I think it could be pretty repetitive to new listeners. I’m into it.

Wow, this album is special to me, it’s one of the first albums I listened to that wasn’t something one of my parents owned, so it’s sort of formative in that way. White Winter Hymnal is a song I sing all the time. This will probably be an incredibly subjective rating. I will say Helplessness Blues is better but still.

Saved Prior: None Not Saved: 11. Heard Them Stirring 10. Tiger Mountain Peasant Song Cutting Edge: 9. Meadowlarks Off Rip: 8. Oliver James 7. He Doesn't Know Why 6. Blue Ridge Mountains 5. Your Protector 4. White Winter Hymnal 3. Sun It Rises 2. Quiet Houses 1. Ragged Wood Overall Notes: Did not expect to like this at all. Folk is one of my least favorite genres, it all sounds so terribly plain to me. But this was impeccable. Lush sounds, wonderful harmonies, nice little lyrical bits. An easy 5, especially considering the genre this is coming from. This is medieval music for the 21st century, and I'm here for it.

10/10. Every song is so good. Tiger Mountain Peasant Song is unreal. Can't say enough good things about this album.

2008: White Winter Hymnal, Blue Ridge Mountain, Ragged Woods, Your Protector, He Doesn't Know Why

Fantastic folk album, been a favorite for years

Pleasant enough indie folk, which is right up my alley. Impressive as a debut, for sure. Cohesive and tight. Is this really one of the greatest albums of all time? Hmm. I’m not sure any of the songs are, erm, “great.” I really like “Your Protector” and “He Doesn’t Know Why,” though. Probably closer to a 3.5-star album.

Fleet Foxes I haven’t listened to this in a while, so it’s nice revisiting, and this has to be one of the most ‘pleasant to listen to albums’, the folky acoustic, the canorous and expressive lead guitar, the vocals and vocal harmony, the reverby atmosphere, the sweet melodies it all makes for a warm, soothing, restorative listen. I occasionally wonder though whether there’s a great deal beyond that, is it an exercise in style and mood rather than a fully satisfying album? But then I think the sound, the atmosphere, the niceness of it all is more than enough, and it exudes such an agreeable sense of joyfulness and craftsmanship, that you only really need to take it at face value and simply enjoy. And beneath the sweetness of the sound I think it does have sufficient depth and substance to it, which stops it from becoming too earnest, or too twee or too Mumford and Sons. I’ve always loved Sun It Rises, the harmonies plus the circular little riff are fantastic, and White Winter Hymnal is of course superb. Tiger Mountain is also great, and I love the melody of He Doesn’t Know Why. But it’s some of the songs I forgot about that I really noticed listening now, Heard Them Stirring with its great organ undercurrent, Meadowlarks spare gentleness is really lovely and the finish of Blue Ridge Mountains with the piano and Oliver James is super. I’ve always loved the Bruegel cover too, it suits the music in it’s evocative, pastoral delightfulness, while having just enough oddness going on to be engaging. It’s a great album, but I think it just falls short of a 5, so it stays as a very high 4. 🦊🦊🦊🦊 Playlist submission: Sun It Rises

No. 275/1001 … Sun It Rises 3/5 White Winter Hymnal 4/5 Ragged Wood 4/5 Tiger Mountain Peasant Song 3/5 Quiet Houses 4/5 He Doesn't Know Why 3/5 Heard Them Stirring 3/5 Your Protector 4/5 Meadowlarks 4/5 Blue Ridge Mountains 4/5 Oliver James 3/5 Average: 3,55 Really cool laid-back folk rock album.

Good album. Different to what I normally listen to but enjoyed it.

Yeah, it's pretty nice. Nice melodies, nice harmonies, nice polite playing. Really well recorded, although I believe they needed to bring in NASA engineers to design the digital delays and reverb slathered over all the vocals.

I heard the hobbits hired this band to play at their annual harvest festival. The general consensus was that they weren't bad, just not ... good. They were not invited back. Hobbits went with a Fleetwood Mac cover band for the following year's festival.

Sonically, this album is amazing. What’s even crazier is it’s a debut album and sounds so polished. Honestly could have came out today and I wouldn’t think twice. I will say, it’s a little slow for my liking, and after 2 listens, I don’t see too much replay value.

Very pleasing to the ear, clearly made by great talent. Good use of many instruments, vocals and melodies are outstanding. Misses a bit of engagement or "WOW" factor though for my tastes.

The soundtrack to your McCarren Park Kickball League.

The same as much of the music that came out during that era, very forgettable. Many praise the vocals and how great they are, it seems they used a lot of echo to cover up how bad they might actually be. EVERY song had over use of echo. Honestly had never heard of the group but this album doesn't prompt me to listen to anymore of them.

In one ear, out the other type stufg

I give it 2 out 5 doesn't really hype me up its okay its not bad I like the beat the instruments. I don't know what lyircs are saying at all and its confusing.

Yeah. I remember this band. I didn't need to be reminded that they existed. I get it. It's not for me. Sounds a bit similar to itself.

“They placed their guitar amplifiers in Native American tipis for aesthetics”, wrote the Wikipedia contributor, maybe a PR person, ticking off the “lackadaisical cultural appropriation” box in my “I-SPY: Hipster Roots Music” spotters’ guide. A decade or so back, deep in mid-gentrification East London, you couldn’t toss a carefree Molotov without immolating some tender Tarquin in a flat cap torturing a banjo and an oversized mic borrowed from Grandpapa, and while this album sorely lacks banjo, it completely captures that vibe of stealing nostalgia from bones in coffins. Throwing Brueghel’s “Netherlandish Proverbs” onto the cover for its “really weird stuff” is super-functioning hipsterdom, and teasing the listener with an opening song that is actually quite exciting before diving into monotonous, intricate, tuneless harmonising is exactly what their fans deserved. May your tipi burn bright, long and noiselessly.

Its a no for me

Music to fall asleep to at a pub open mic night.

Folk and Americana for people that don't actually like the genres. This is what they play at the Gap when they want to sound "earthy." For a fan of the grittier sound of both of those genres, this is the album that launched a thousand lame versions.

I have such a fondness for Fleet Foxes. They are everything I want a modern Folk band to be: rich vocal harmonies, fitting instrumentation, melancholy lyrics, they're the whole package. I was introduced to them through Helplessness Blues, and I think that's a better album overall but that may just be a bias because I already know that album and hadn't listened to this one front to back. Even still, White Winter Hymnal is an all time great song, and I'm sure this album will grow on me even more over time as I add it to the rotation. And all the people on this site who grade things poorly because they don't like the vocal harmonies are just projecting the fact that nobody wants to sing with them and they're jealous.

I already knew 'White Winter Hymnal' and loved it, so I am pleased to discover the rest of the album is of similar quality. I don't think there was a single one I actually disliked. It's an odd sound, Fleet Foxes. Not for everyone, but apparently for me.

Great album, great straight through listen. Folk/indie rock with a lot of vocal harmonies. Favorite tracks include Sun It Rises, White Winter Hymnal, Ragged Wood, He Doesn’t Know Why, Your Protector, Meadowlarks, Blue Ridge Mountains.

заслуженные 5 очков. несколько песен раньше слышал и сохранил)

Loved this - great tunes, thx!

For a good two thirds of this album, Fleet Foxes serve up the very best melodic indie, bolstered by lush echo-drenched harmonies and clever arrangements which occasionally venture off into Smile-era Brian Wilson instrumental vignettes (which is a good thing, just to be clear). From White Winter Hymnal through to He Doesn't Know Why, they barely put a foot wrong, moving between full-on euphoria to acoustic melancholy without breaking a sweat. But - and there is a "but" - while the remaining tracks are far from terrible, there is an annoying hipster vibe permeating proceedings here, which is easy to ignore when Fleet Foxes are at their best, but it becomes more evident the less focused they are on the basics. The lush vocals quickly become pretentious when they are exposed and over-deployed in more sparse arrangements and one too many a capella sections. The band's trad-folk and prog wankery tendencies come to the surface when they turn their attentions beyond the solid pop melodies that are clearly within Pecknold's arsenal. Sadly, it would seem the niche prog-folk path was the one they chose to follow with subsequent long-players, which are nowhere near as immediate, accessible or, frankly, good as this debut. This is still one of my favourite albums of the noughties, and were it to have some tracks from the brilliant EPs which preceded it substituted in, this would be a nailed-on five-star album. Listening more than a decade later, the highlights still sound as fresh and exciting as they did in 2008, there is just that nagging feeling there are areas where they opted for style over substance. As I began typing this, I was pretty much committed to only awarding four stars, but I've been mulling over other albums from the era, and I can't help but think I have to change my mind and let this just scrape a five, if only to put a line in the sand and set the standard for the late-2000s-to-present music. Despite the flaws, I'm going to focus on the positive in this case.

Favorite Track: White Winter Hymnal

The first cool autumn breeze you feel after a long hot summer. Piles of orange and red leaves on the ground and the crunch it makes when you kick or walk on them. Sipping on a chai latte while wearing flannel. Dipping small donuts into apple cider while at a cider mill or an apple orchard. This album feels exactly like everything I said.

Everything about the album is fantastic. Modern folk rock with cool soundscape and beautiful harmonies. Even the album cover is refreshing :-) Favorite track: blue ridge mountains other picks: white winter hymnal, ragged wood, tiger mountain peasant song, he doesn’t know why, meadowlands

Delightful and easy to get into.

J'adore les voix qui ressemblent à une chorale contemporaine masculine, ce qui est rare! Des mélodies entraînantes et joyeuses, qu'on a envie de fredonner souvent. Ça amène de la joie dans la maison

Un excellent album!

"Fleet Foxes" is the debut studio album by American band Fleet Foxes. Indie folk, chamber pop, folk rock, folk pop and indie are the Wiki-listed genres. The band was formed by guitarist-vocalist Robin Pecknold and guitarist Skyler Skjelset in Seattle. For the album the band reworked existing songs emphasizing harmonies and unconventional song structures. Other bandmembers included Nicholas Peterson (drums, vocals), Casey Wescott (keyboards, vocals) and Craig Curran (drums, vocals). The album had wide-spread critical acclaim and did very well commercially reaching #36 in the US and #3 in the UK. The album begins with a capella intro in "Sun It Rises." Layered acoustic guitars. Pecknold on lead vocals with layered harmonies. Dreamy folk. Marching band drums and a jam band-ish electric guitar. A lot going on. I think he's talking to the sun asking why does it rise. The first single was "White Winter Hymnal." Pecknold on lead vocals as the harmonies join in crisscrossing him. More acoustic guitar, a bass drum beat and tambourine. It's a song Pecknold said was about friends abandoning him with he was younger. Beautiful song. Vocal harmonies begin "He Doesn't Know Why." 60's-ish guitar and harmonies as Pecknold unfolds a story about his brother returning home after a few years in an unrecognizable state and there appears to be nothing he can do to change it. They get the baroque pop going in "Your Protector" with an added flute. A song that has sort of a jaunty guitar and beat. Its builds in an epic fashion. The narrator is a resistance fighter who doesn't know if he'll return to his loved one. This is highlighted by tremendous lead vocals and harmonies. Lots of layered acoustic guitars but there's also a lot of details in the other instruments and music in general. Pecknold's voice reminds me of My Morning Jacket's Jim James as does the music at times. There are epic and jam band vibes which take this music past conventional folk. There's naturalistic imagery - rivers, snow, sun, winter. I heard the unconventional song structures with melodies coming in the middle of songs seemingly from nowhere. This is an exceptional album and one I should listen to more and so should you.

Somehow I have never listened to this album in full before. I love every song, I love the vibes, I love the instrumentation, I love the lush feeling of it. Delicious. Thank you Fleet Foxes.

The first album that I remember listening to shortly after it came out. White Winter Hymnal and Blue Ridge Mountains have been favorited by me for a while and they hold up so well. The vocals, lyrics, and whole vibe of this album are right up my alley. It can certainly feel a little "samey" at times, but hey, I can't say I don't like it.

Favorite tracks: White Winter Hymnal, Your Protector, Blue Ridge Mountains This album is ethereal. Every song was interesting and as a whole it was beautiful.

I’ve been feeling a little down recently due to the change of the seasons. I have this feeling of dread and mourning once summer turns into autumn with college starting back up, baseball ending, and going down shore not being possible anymore. But I think this album kind of makes me feel happy to move forward in these seasons. It makes me look forward to football, Halloween, Thanksgiving, pumpkin pie, and all the things that made me really love fall when I was a kid. It has a very peaceful cottage core feel that I really liked, it's almost reminiscent of early Alex G or even Mac DeMarco (listened to him during my entire first semester in college after high school). This is the kind of indie music that I really like. Favorite Songs: Sun It Rises, White Winter Hymnal, Tiger Mountain Peasant Song, He Doesn't Know Why, Heard Them Stirring, Your Protector, Meadowlarks Rating: 5/5

Inject this shit into my veins.

One of my favorite albums in general and especially this genre

Stomp! clap! hey! Not gunna lie, this genre has always been a guilty pleasure. Its fun, its an easy listen. Hipster music at its best!

what a debut! timeless, instant classic. Pour a glass of wine. Have a spliff. Don't do anything else but fold into the tunes.

Oh I liked the vibe a lot it's so up my alley. Blue ridge mountain fucks

I’m a Millennial hipster, this albums tickled all the right nostalgia strings. I didn’t realize I was a Fleet Foxes fan, but I knew every song on this album. “White Winter Hymnal” is on all my best Christmas playlists.

This album and its companion, the Sun Giant EP, were on constant rotation for me back in the late 2000’s. It was an album that was sure to bring either a tear or a smile to my face depending on where my mind was at the time. It’s just such a powerful record full of incredible vocal performances. Pecknold’s vocals in particular are so emotional and dynamic, his tone is insane with the rest of the band providing beautifully haunting harmonies all of which were well thought out while winding through these not so typical song structures. White Winter Hymnal, Tiger Mountain Peasant Song, Quiet House, and Blue Ridge Mountains have always been favorites for me but this entire album is brilliant. If you like this one and this band is new to you, keep listening cause their following albums are amazing too. Easy 5 for me.

Boy, I love this one. As with many of the albums I love, I can thank Andy for hipping me to it. I had never been a folk music guy, but this slapped me in the face and got me listening. I like the atmospheric vocals. Great album. Favorites are Tiger Mountain Peasant Song and Blue Ridge Mountains. This album is a 5 to me.

Good indie-folk. Relistened to it about 5 times.

so good!!

BANGGGERRRRRRRRRR

I actually really love this - on the first listen I was like sure whatever, but now I've been looping it for days now. Big fan. Your Protector and Blue Ridge Mountains are probably my favourites, but I'm grabbing the whole lot. They're kind Mumford & Sons but more Christian. I vibe. Will check them out. 5/5 stars.

Makes me want to sit in the woods for a few days. I love them

I loved it. A rare 5 for me for the first time hearing an album.

Great album. Listened to it many many times before. I like Helplessness Blues just a bit more but this one is still a banger in its own right. 4.5/5

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. Just an unbelievably stellar debut album. So evocative, imaginative, and beautiful. One of my top favorites of all time.

Listened on the way to work, early morning (best time for this album in my opinion). Very familiar with this one, been listening since release in 2008. Love the folk indie style, beautiful record. Highlights for me are Your Protector and He Doesn't Know Why.

Pure ear candy. I've been a big fan of this album since first hearing it around the time it was released. It continues to be excellent, with the sublime harmonies being the highlight of the experience. If we figure out time travel and transport these guys back to Woodstock '69 they won't be out of place at all.

Forgot how good this was. Insanely influential. Was shocked this is my first 5!!

For something so recent, this is something I would have worn the grooves off of in my youth in the 60s - 70s. Nice harmonies and the tunes are melodic. Well done.

One of my favourite albums of all time. It came out around the time I turned 18, so I was the perfect age to hop on the indie folk hype train. Nothing in that scene came close to this though - it's a world away from the likes of Mumford & Sons, The Lumineers, etc. There's songs on this album that genuinely sound like music from centuries ago, updated and adapted to modern times. Now that I'm older and wiser, I see that Fleet Foxes owe quite a debt to Simon & Garfunkel (among others), but the songwriting and musicianship is so good that it does still stand as a masterpiece in its own right. They did somehow manage to top this with their second album imo, but I'm not sure if that's on this list.

LOVED IT! Album theme is so warm with it slightly-celtic tunes 🥹 I loved “He Doesn’t Know Why”, “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song”, and “White Winter Hymnal”.

White Winter Hymnal, Heard Them Stirring

I love this album so much. It’s very important to me for artistic and personal reasons. Its release is embedded in my memory, and I think I could even say that Fleet Foxes went on to be my favorite band of the 2010s with Helplessness Blues and Crack-Up both being masterpieces (I will rate them 5s too if they show up on this list). Technically I would give this a 4.5 because it’s not quite at the level of the aforementioned two, but it is still nearly perfect and packed with classic songs. Must-listen (#178), and side note, it’s so refreshing to get three 5-star albums in a row.

Gentle and peak, wow

Hits in the feels and it’s hard to separate myself and hear the album not biased by the time and place when I remember first experiencing it. The EP was lightning in a bottle and the LP took that feeling further. “Blue Ridge Mountains” takes me back to long contemplative drives in my ‘03 Honda Civic. The rest of the album, particularly the first half flows like a continuous breathing exercise that leaves you wrapped in a blanket of calm. Still so good and, man, 2007-2009 had some incredible albums that still resonate today. This is certainly one of those.

a modern indie folk classic reminds me of when i first moved to NYC and had to drive around a production van and WNYC played this album (and Helplessness Blues) a fair amount... big thanks to them for introducing me to fleet foxes, a mainstay of road trip playlists ever since

I have loved this album and revisited it so many times since it came out. It feels old-timey and modern, like it's always been there. I have so much nostalgia for this album and can't help but give it a 5.

#111 - This was one of my coming of age albums, it's held up great!

Excellent!

Excellent, big vibe for me in the 2010s.