Fleet Foxes

[DavidCrosby]

....any MMJ fans into this band?????.....I hear a lot of comparisons between the two (like how FF sounds like MMJ) but I really don't think so....just because both bands have a very strong vocalist I think that is where the comparison lies.....

....but the music is so different, FF's songs are more stories as opposed to verse-chorus-verse and most of the songs are kind of arranged in suites...and they don't rock like MMJ.....

.....anybody else agree??? because I would hate to have them pigeon holed like that....

[Salacious D]

I'm not seeing it, but honestly I didn't give FF *too* much attention--they were just way too sleepy for me. Never caught my attention--MMJ caught my attention the first measure of music I heard from them . . . So again, in that sense-I just don't see it.

[ycartrob]

http://www.mymorningjacket.com/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1202407939

[tomEisenbraun]

...and they don't rock like MMJ.....

You haven't seen them live yet, have you?

[Crispy]

I say Fleet Foxes deserves another thread, if anything to continue talking about the MMJ comparison. I agree with Crosby, after so many listens of Sun Giant & Fleet Foxes (self titled LP), I think those that are saying FF sound just like MMJ circa 2002 are a little off. Their harmonies are more complex, which is only natural since it's 3- and 4-part with different voices, whereas pre-2004 MMJ harmonies are pretty much multi-tracked Jim, and none live, eh? (I'm confident someone will correct me if I'm wrong here) I guess you could say Pecknold and James on their own are very similar, i.e "Oliver James" and say, "Bermuda Highway", but as we know that's not what either band is all about.
Tom seems like the best authority on these guys, since he's actually seen em live. I can't wait to see them, and I'm sure they do rock out - but I'm thinking they don't have "Phone Went West" or "Run Thru"-type rockin in their arsenal.

[tomEisenbraun]

Quite true about no Run Thru, but when they open with all the passion of Sun Giant and then make their way into Sun It Rises, when that drum part finally comes in, you understand what they meant in "Sun Giant" about a "giant torn from the clouds"--the entire wall of tension of the building acts as a cloudburst and everything comes into focus for the first time in their set, and it's so incredibly beautiful.

That said, you are damn straight about the harmony. They have four parts going on a lot of it, most of the time there's three. They changed drummers and added good friend Josh Tillman (www.myspace.com/jtillman) and the ferocity with which he plays adds so damn much to it. You can tell he loves those guys and he loves that music, and the genuine shared expression of joy between all of them makes it entirely worth it. Good Lord. I just wanted to scream "Josh! You kick ASS!" to let him know how appreciated he is in that band. Adds a whole new ferocious element to how huge their drum sound already was.

As for the harmonies, to hear them take "Sun Giant" and completely destroy and rebuild the temple that is that song's harmonic structure is so awe-inspiring that it really defies verbal description. The way these guys sang it Saturday evening to open the show was absolutely and completely different than how it's recorded on the EP. And it made it every bit the more beautiful. And it took everyone in the room and engaged them immediately. They weren't just singing back that which they'd already written and laid down as done. They were furthering it. I have no doubt in my mind that it was entirely different the next night in North Carolina. And three nights before in Austin. All these guys not only know but love what they are doing, and you don't need to look any further than the look on Skye Skjelset's face as he beams throughout the set while tuning into what every one else in that band is doing.

I have no doubt that these guys will need a break from the touring when they settle down in a month or so, but I also am damn certain that they will have so much more in store for us after that break. I've never seen a band contribute so strongly and so evenly and so unselfishly as these guys. It's like they understood the entire point of it was to glorify this music that they'd been gifted with, and each and everyone of them worked to do that with every ounce of their own beings.

The structure of this group takes the music from just being Robin's songs to being everyone in that group's baby. I don't know if Robin wrote the lead line in "Blue Ridge Mountains" and I don't need to, either. I don't know if he can play the mandolin or the Rhodes on his own--that's Casey Wescott's role there, and the sheer joy in his face as he's doing so is testament enough to understanding that those guys are all exactly where they are meant to be. The music isn't pretentious at all because it's presented with such honesty and joy. It's a gift to the listener, and they understand that, but don't hold themselves as the originator so much as the vessel. My old signature line on this board used to be "We are only vessels for the music we carry." These guys exemplify that in a live setting.

One of the most beautiful things happened, and it was weird, because I wanted it to go the other way. But when everyone trooped off stage to leave Robin to play "Oliver James", someone yelled for "Kate Cruel" and he responded with "I guess I could do that one..." My thought was that he should shrug it off and play what he was going to, but then he went on in to "Katie Cruel" and I realized he'd just given that guy who asked for it something special. No set list is too set for a little generosity, and Robin not only made that guy's night, but everyone else's with that special addition. Hell, even if it was exactly as he meant for it to go all along, his reaction and interaction with that fan were what makes this band worth seeing.

I came away from the show wanting to return those guys the favor. And I realized the biggest way we can repay the artists we love is to make them something with our own heart in soul in it, in the same way they've created something similar for us. I'm working on figuring out what I'd like to make for them next time they come around. I'm thinking about tackling the project of building Robin an acoustic with a pickup that doesn't hang out of the soundhole and onto the floor, as ambitious and time consuming as that is, because I'd like them to know what they mean to the people they make music for, and like for him to have a real quality instrument that can act as a reflection of the combined gratitude of everyone they've made music for so far.

There's something special about this band. And I am very thankful for that. And I'll happily defend them against any MMJ comparisons you can throw their way.

(I don't hear the "Bermuda Highway"/"Oliver James" comparison at all.)

[BH]

Ragged Wood makes me tingle.  It inspires me and I haven't even paid attention to what they are talking about.

[tomEisenbraun]

(If we're being honest, I only know about 35% of the words if even that much?)

[Crispy]

That was some great reading Tom, thanks for that. Now I'm dying even more to see them live, which for me means another trip to Denver in about 2 weeks - along with the MMJ Red Rocks show in August.  :D

(The only point I was trying to make with the Oliver James/Bermuda Highway thing is that they're both lead singer solo tunes, and hence, similar)

[Crispy]

NPR did a simulcast of Fleet Foxes' show in D.C. last night - you can listen to it here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92089028 Sounds great so far!

[harpua51]

NPR did a simulcast of Fleet Foxes' show in D.C. last night - you can listen to it here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92089028 Sounds great so far!

I forgot all about this...thanks for the reminder! :)

[harpua51]

I really like the Fleet Foxes!  I kinda got the MMJ comparison but the more i hear them I am reminded of the Band of Horses.  

I just dont get the Rock n Roll feeling with FF that I get with MMJ

[DavidCrosby]

....I saw them at Bowery Ballroom in NYC last Wednesday and it was incredible....I still don't think they rock like MMJ though or at all.....powerful musicianship doesn't necessarily mean rocking, ya konw what I mean????....heres a rough set list:

Sun Giant -> Sun It Rises -> Drops In The River
English House
White Winter Hymnal
Your Protector
Ragged Wood
Crayon Angels [Judee Sill Cover] (Robin solo)
Oliver James (Robin solo)
[Missing Song]
Mykonos
Blue Ridge Mountains
(encore)
Tiger Mountain Peasant Song (Robin solo)

[getinthevan]

I just dont get the Rock n Roll feeling with FF that I get with MMJ

Not every band has to be a rock band.  I like Fleet Foxes just fine the way they are.  I would LOVE to go see them but they haven't quite made it to Michigan yet and it looks like it may be a little while before they do.

[DavidCrosby]

I just dont get the Rock n Roll feeling with FF that I get with MMJ

Not every band has to be a rock band.  I like Fleet Foxes just fine the way they are.  I would LOVE to go see them but they haven't quite made it to Michigan yet and it looks like it may be a little while before they do.

that was in response to somebody saying that they rocked like MMJ and I should see them live before I say that they dont, I still don't think that they do even after seeing them

[tomEisenbraun]

Well, to revise, they don't rock in the same way that MMJ does, but is that something we need?

They have their own sound, and it's powerful and huge and moving, in a similar way to the way the Jacket has moved me, but in a way that's completely their own sound.

I think my favorite part of MMJ is the sound that edges on this side of things. Run Thru is huge and awesome, but when I think about MMJ, that's not the song I think of. Golden is, I think. I Will Sing You Songs is. Rollin' Back and Steam Engine, too. I listened to It Still Moves for a year before I got to the rest of their stuff, and then saw them another half year later for the first time. The live show is a different experience from my listening experience, and I relate the "MMJ sound" to what I am still the most familiar with on It Still Moves. I DON'T HATE THE OTHER STUFF, but that album is the definitive Jacket sound to me.

Does it make sense then why I'd say that they rock in a similar way to My Morning Jacket? The Jacket's live show has taken huge turns since the original line-up, surely, and these guys take a much more west-coast meets baroque harmony approach to Americana, but I think they carry a similar vibe to where MMJ has been. Obviously they don't have anything even similar to "Highly Suspicious," but we don't need that, do we?

DavidCrosby, MMJ comparisons aside, what did you think?

[getinthevan]

I just dont get the Rock n Roll feeling with FF that I get with MMJ

Not every band has to be a rock band.  I like Fleet Foxes just fine the way they are.  I would LOVE to go see them but they haven't quite made it to Michigan yet and it looks like it may be a little while before they do.

that was in response to somebody saying that they rocked like MMJ and I should see them live before I say that they dont, I still don't think that they do even after seeing them

My apologies, I didn't see that.  

[DavidCrosby]

Well, to revise, they don't rock in the same way that MMJ does, but is that something we need?

They have their own sound, and it's powerful and huge and moving, in a similar way to the way the Jacket has moved me, but in a way that's completely their own sound.

I think my favorite part of MMJ is the sound that edges on this side of things. Run Thru is huge and awesome, but when I think about MMJ, that's not the song I think of. Golden is, I think. I Will Sing You Songs is. Rollin' Back and Steam Engine, too. I listened to It Still Moves for a year before I got to the rest of their stuff, and then saw them another half year later for the first time. The live show is a different experience from my listening experience, and I relate the "MMJ sound" to what I am still the most familiar with on It Still Moves. I DON'T HATE THE OTHER STUFF, but that album is the definitive Jacket sound to me.

Does it make sense then why I'd say that they rock in a similar way to My Morning Jacket? The Jacket's live show has taken huge turns since the original line-up, surely, and these guys take a much more west-coast meets baroque harmony approach to Americana, but I think they carry a similar vibe to where MMJ has been. Obviously they don't have anything even similar to "Highly Suspicious," but we don't need that, do we?

DavidCrosby, MMJ comparisons aside, what did you think?

....I don't feel the need for FF to be anything like MMJ but when I think of a band rockin', I think of the way MMJ sounds....I think if Fleet Foxes rocked like that it wouldn't work...as for the show I thought it was amazing, they are really good live.....the sound was so full and textured and I am pretty sure they recently added a member, a percussionist and he sings too.....the only thing I would have liked different was if the expanded a little and played out more of the instrumental areas, but really no complaints.....I would highly recommend anyone seeing them but tickets are really hard to get for them right now because everyone is talking about them....

.....and ISM is the definitive MMJ for me too even though there really isn't a single song I dislike, it just is so amazing and I can't get over it sometimes......

[tomEisenbraun]

Rock on, dude. The new guy on drums is Josh Tillman. He makes beautiful music, as well. Different vibe, but definitely fits in with these guys. Check him out here: www.myspace.com/jtillman

If anyone's interested, there's an EP recorded before either Sun Giant or the self titled that can be found here: http://philspector.wordpress.com/2008/06/01/i-love-baroque-n-roll/ -- It's a quite popular blog from some mid-30's dude from Scotland. Over 150,000 visitors ain't a bad number to boast, though...


Here's the tracks in case you're lazy (They run in this order, and the album is just Fleet Foxes EP as far as I can tell...):

[link=http://www.box.net/shared/static/q53b8fbock.mp3]She Got Dressed[/link]

[link=http://www.box.net/shared/static/p3n9vma0wc.mp3]In The Hot, Hot Rays[/link]

[link=http://www.box.net/shared/static/smlfhnuo00.mp3]Anyone Who's Anyone[/link]

[link=http://www.box.net/shared/static/apsgucq8sw.mp3]Textbook Love[/link]

[link=http://www.box.net/shared/static/u6fqqwjs4w.mp3]So Long To The Headstrong[/link]

[link=http://www.box.net/shared/static/taip7l4gsc.mp3]Icicle Tusk[/link]


Enjoy!

(Photo by Dan Belisle)

[DavidCrosby]

...thanks a lot, I have heard Sun Giant and the LP so much it is good to have new Fleet Foxes...