The Fleet Foxes have always inhabited their own universe. From their first single, White Winter Hymnal (check it out here), which came out in 2008, the band’s layered harmonies, homespun instrumentation, and mystic lyrics harked back to a distant time and place that may or may not have existed. Unique is a word that gets bandied about a lot in music reviews, but in this case, it really applies. Critics classify their sound as psychedelic folk, but I feel that label misses a lot of the textures the two members of the band, singer-songwriter Robin Pecknold and Skyler Skjelset, bring to the recordings. With their fourth album, Shore, the duo has definitely moved on – which can be a problem – but in this case, it feels like a positive and necessary evolution. The music is fuller, more produced, and richer. The title track from the album, Can I Believe You, channels earlier Fleet Foxes, but there are elements of The Byrds and the breeziness of that era of rock and roll (minus the drugs). According to Pitchfork, the band has spent their whole career “transforming anxiety into euphoria with towering, wall-of-sound choruses that belie the unease that inspires them and this album is no exception”. Once you have heard this track, check out their early work. If they are not already on your playlist, I guarantee they will be now.
