Fleet Foxes 'Fleet Foxes'

Hype. Hypety, hypety, hype, hype. Hype.

Its a funny old World readers . Mark Eitzel has spent most of the last twenty years writing some of the most brutal and beautiful songs ever written and nobody bats an eyelid. No 9.0s on Pitchfork, no big features in G2 etc etc. Now though, you can't open a magazine or 'paper without reading yet more about how groundbreaking and wonderful the Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes albums are. The Bon Iver album is great, no doubt about that. Excellent songs and a great story. Bon Iver was April and May, but that album is yesterday's news and now the Fleet Foxes LP is the greatest thing ever, with one review claiming it was unlike anything we have heard before. Really?

No. 'Fleet Foxes' is an enjoyable mix of folk, gospel and classic rock and sounds a lot like the first couple of My Morning Jacket records. They do a nice line in acappella harmonies, particularly on opener 'Sun It Rises'. The highlight is 'White Winter Hymnal', a ridiculously catchy summer pop number that you will be humming all day, whilst trying to figure out the scary and visual lyrics. There is no getting away from the My Morning Jacket comparison, singer Robin Picknold sounds an awful lot like Jim James and a lot of the music has the same Southern rock sound. They do great, heartfelt ballads too, 'Ragged Wood' works through several different phases always staying interesting.

This is an enjoyable record. Fans of all sorts of genres will appreciate it, there are Country elements here too and perhaps the reason for all the hype is that it is so far-reaching. Dreamy, soulful and perfect for a Summer's day then, but not unique.

8.0

'Fleet Foxes' is out now on Bella Union. As if you didn't already know.