At times hearkening to muffled carols heard across a snowy thicket, Fleet Foxes cleverly combine captivating acoustics, smart lyrics, and bewitching harmonies on their self-titled album.
Though I must admit that I was initially put off by the seemingly anticlimactic tracks, I soon realized that this band had successfully drawn from some of my favorite artists; the strumminess of Iron and Wine, the distant, blended vocals of Simon and Garfunkel, the modern, catchy chant that The Shins capture so well. I dare say I am in love.
Perhaps the song that says it all is "White Winter Hymnal,"
replete with a fuzzy round and a driving tambourine. But it's the hallmark simple, yet figurative lyrics that attract me most. There is something in succinct, pastoral imagery that charms the most skeptical listener.
White Winter Hymnal
I was following the pack
all swallowed in their coats
with scarves of red tied ’round their throats
to keep their little heads
from fallin’ in the snow
And I turned ’round and there you go
And, Michael, you would fall
and turn the white snow red as strawberries
in the summertime
all swallowed in their coats
with scarves of red tied ’round their throats
to keep their little heads
from fallin’ in the snow
And I turned ’round and there you go
And, Michael, you would fall
and turn the white snow red as strawberries
in the summertime
