Fleet Foxes

“White Winter Hymnal“
from the album Fleet Foxes
2008
iTunes

MySpace sensations are so 2007, but that doesn’t make the success of Fleet Foxes any less impressive. By a complex thread of connections, the group landed on MySpace’s main music page, which increased traffic to their site by the thousands. Based on that success and the buzz around their hometown of Seattle, the band eventually signed to Sub Pop, which will release their self-titled full-length in June (produced by Phil Ek of Modest Mouse/Built to Spill/Shins fame). This is the band you’ll be sick of hearing about before the inauguration, although it’s less likely you’ll be sick of hearing songs like “White Winter Hymnal” by then.

The reverb on the vocals will draw the easy comparisons to My Morning Jacket and Band of Horses, but there’s so much more going on here. The reshuffling of indie rock, traditional folk, and chamber pop influences recalls the innovations of The Band, if not the music itself. Beginning with a baroque vocal roundelay, “White Winter Hymnal” builds and builds as it repeats that main theme, initially against a tambourine and acoustic guitar. Soon a loud bass drum and a Link Wray guitar get caught in the circling melody, yet the song always sounds restrained, as if the band is deliberately playing close to the chest. In fact, “White Winter Hymnal” is surprisingly short, but Fleet Foxes manage to pack an entire winter and part of summer in these two and a half minutes.