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CRITIC REVIEWS
100
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
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.
12y
100
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.
12y
100
100
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.
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1y
100
Hushed and wistful, Foxes evokes the itinerant days of yore...you know, before gas cost four bucks a gallon.
100
It all adds up to a landmark in American music, an instant classic.
100
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.
11y
90
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.
12y
90
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
Tone is an alchemic process, and Fleet Foxes produce gold with regularity, a stunning feat for such a young band.
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7mo
88
This is a fabulous album - intelligent yet naïve all at once – and one that undoubtedly merits the critical plaudits it will surely receive.
84
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
The wilderness goes from breathtaking to sort of boring after a while, but the overall effect is as refreshing as country air.
12y
80
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
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
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
It's like watching the sun rise over distant mountaintops, over and over, familiar and captivating all at once.
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1mo
80
At its best, Fleet Foxes is warm and cathartic, with all the hopefulness of a balmy summer night.
12y
80
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.
12y
80
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.
12y
70
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.
12y
70
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.
12y
70
Although there is much to like about the album, it can be difficult to differentiate one song from another.
12y
66
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.
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
I was first exposed to Fleet Foxes' self-titled debut by my mother. It was at a time where I did not grasp the complexity of the music yet, however one line from "White Winter Hymnal" always stood out to me:
"And I turned 'round and there you go
And, Michael, you would fall
And turn the white snow red as strawberries
In the summertime"
Obviously, the lyrics are quite dark (which I did not understand back then), but the delivery is so sweet and melodic, it has stuck with me ... read more
One of my favorite albums ever, its just such a happy and enjoyable expiriance every time i take a listen to this album for the who knows what time.
a 10/10 for sure
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Track List
| 1 | Sun It Rises 3:11 | 89 |
| 2 | White Winter Hymnal 2:27 | 96 |
| 3 | Ragged Wood 5:07 | 95 |
| 4 | Tiger Mountain Peasant Song 3:28 | 88 |
| 5 | Quiet Houses 3:32 | 87 |
| 6 | He Doesn't Know Why 3:20 | 92 |
| 7 | Heard Them Stirring 3:02 | 82 |
| 8 | Your Protector 4:09 | 91 |
| 9 | Meadowlarks 3:11 | 87 |
| 10 | Blue Ridge Mountains 4:25 | 95 |
| 11 | Oliver James 3:23 | 88 |
Total Length: 39 minutes
Year End Lists
| #1 | / | MOJO |
| #1 | / | No Ripcord |
| #1 | / | Pitchfork |
| #2 | / | PopMatters |
| #2 | / | Q Magazine |
| #3 | / | Beats Per Minute |
| #4 | / | musicOMH |
| #4 | / | Tiny Mix Tapes |
| #5 | / | Spin |
| #6 | / | Paste |
More Lists
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1mo
crazy how big this album was when it first dropped mfs really were walking around listening to a song called 'white winter hymnal' during one of the biggest economic crashes in American History. vibes mustve been crazy
