Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
Critic Score
Based on 28 reviews
2008 Ratings: #3 / 806
Year End Rank: #3
User Score
2008 Rank: #12
Liked by 402 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
Gigwise
Miraculously, this self-titled debut doesn’t just match the florid praise. It actually makes the hyperbole dished out in family-sized portions sound unnecessarily restrained.
100
musicOMH

This could be the closest this generation gets to its own Pet Sounds. A stunning debut then, and one that will make Fleet Foxes one of the most sought after bands of the year.

100
AllMusic

Throughout the album, the band sounds wise beyond its years, so it's not really that surprising that Fleet Foxes is such a satisfying, self-assured debut.

100
Mojo
The sense of wonder in Fleet Foxes' songs is matched only by the discipline and talent that created this adventurous, evocative record. One which is already shaping up as an album of the year.
100
Entertainment Weekly
Hushed and wistful, Foxes evokes the itinerant days of yore...you know, before gas cost four bucks a gallon.
100
The Guardian
It all adds up to a landmark in American music, an instant classic.
100
Consequence of Sound
Even though the Fleet Foxes record is reflecting of a musical past, it is heavy in a unique style that is their own in today’s new musical world.
90
Pitchfork

For all the album's winding paths and unexpected vistas, Fleet Foxes' harmonies remain the primary draw, and they've written and arranged these songs to showcase their shared vocals. 

90
Prefix

They deliver on that five-song teaser’s promise and then some with their first full-length, a self-titled gem that already seems set to wind up near the top of any right-thinking person’s year-end list.

90
Under the Radar
Tone is an alchemic process, and Fleet Foxes produce gold with regularity, a stunning feat for such a young band.
88
The Line of Best Fit
This is a fabulous album - intelligent yet naïve all at once – and one that undoubtedly merits the critical plaudits it will surely receive.
84
Coke Machine Glow
Fleet Foxes ease down the road with no gimmicks or quirks, making their enthusiasm all the more contagious, if a bit too acrobatic and skillful for the listener to join in with.
83
A.V. Club
The wilderness goes from breathtaking to sort of boring after a while, but the overall effect is as refreshing as country air.
80
Uncut
Like the equally rapturous "Sun Giant" EP which preceded it, Fleet Foxes' debut album is a fastidious, sometimes overwhelmingly pretty evocation of the American wilderness; a dreamy companion piece to last month's superb Bon Iver album.
80
Rolling Stone
A lower-dosage Animal Collective, the Foxes stuff their free-form songs with rich, swirling melodies; billowing clouds of organs, tom-toms, bells and assorted stringed instruments cloak group vocals whose secular-gospel, suede-fringed precision owes plenty to Crosby, Stills and Nash.
80
DIY
They self-style themselves as a family business of ‘baroque harmonic pop jams,’ and as usual with bizarre hybrid genres, it works damn well.
80
Paste
It's like watching the sun rise over distant mountaintops, over and over, familiar and captivating all at once.
80
SPIN

At its best, Fleet Foxes is warm and cathartic, with all the hopefulness of a balmy summer night.

80
PopMatters
That Fleet Foxes have crafted such a sublime debut less than two years into their existence as a band speaks to their collective pop genius.
80
Drowned in Sound

Fleet Foxes doesn’t leave the stereo. Three, four, five times through – these songs resonate over and over until they stick for good. A sign of a great record: words fail but a feeling remains.

70
No Ripcord

Fleet Foxes is certainly a very good record, but it is kept from greatness by its failure to capture the communal feeling of its excellent, buzz-building live shows.

70
NME
You have to wade through a lot of plaid-shirted, porch-rocking psychedelia before you get there. The patient pilgrim, though, can look forward to unearthing the widescreen Laurel Canyon-birthed wonder of 'Your Protectors' after one or two plays.
70
Tiny Mix Tapes

Although there is much to like about the album, it can be difficult to differentiate one song from another.

66
Time Out London
Their sweet, vocal harmony-saturated mix of neo-baroque pop, ’70s country rock and English pastoral folk (both medieval and modern) makes for a soulful, swoonsome and damn-near spiritual experience.
Jwallace1997
86

I can't believe I slept on this album for as long as I did.

amelietur
90

My heart is warm now.

SnowyFighter
87

I wanna pet a lil fox

(Video Reaction in bio!)

Fleet Foxes have been on my radar for such a long time now, so glad to have finally gotten around to them. Their debut album is some amazing indie folk. No wonder they are acclaimed. The sound of this is so inviting and filled with life. The vocal performances are godly. The instrumentation is extremely well composed. It’s hard to decide my favorite on this album, but I thinkkkk it might be Blue Ridge Mountain. A jaw dropping song tbh. ... read more

Peddror
87

highlights: White Winter Hymnal, Meadowlarks, Blue Ridge Mountains.
lowlight: Quiet Houses.

klnm
92

Fleet Foxes' self-titled is a delightful work of indie folk. it's basically everything you would want from a genre like this; warm, layered harmonies, bright instrumentation, nature-based songwriting, and simply amazing singing. while this record is still somewhat underdeveloped compared to what would come after, it's already enough to keep me hooked for the entirety of its 39 minutes.

with songs like Your Protector, Ragged Wood and He Doesn't Know Why, you get a good sense of Robin Pecknold's ... read more

Mouranha
73

Produção perfeita, e sonoridade claramente muito linda e viva, porém em minha primeira escutada acho que não me conectei tanto com a maioria das melodias, por mais que seja capaz de reconhecer sua beleza. É um álbum de fato lindo e confortante, não sei porque ainda não me conectei. Talvez eu tenha que escutar mais vezes...

Destaques: Sun it Rises, Meadowlarks, Blue Ridge Mountains

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