Last weekend held the release of the third studio album by the Fleet Foxes. The folk-rock group, led by the reclusive Robin Pecknold, has been absent from our speakers for over six years; their last album, “Helplessness Blues”, debuted in 2011. So it’s about time we got something glorious from the Seattle-based group once more, this time in the form of an eleven-track LP called “Crack-Up”, featuring a new single, “Third of May/Ōdaigahara”.
In honor of the release of the third studio album, here’s a list of the top ten Fleet Foxes songs.
10. “Lorelai”
Throughout the track listings of every LP and EP from Fleet Foxes, many of the songs share similar themes of seasons, simplicity, and love. “Lorelai” is no exception, as one interpretation involves a relationship between a butterfly of a girl, and a barnacle of a guy. He’s content to be boring— she wants a little bit more. He feels like trash on the sidewalk— old news, even; somebody who could sleep through a whole summer while she’d be enjoying the wonders of it all.
9. “The Shrine/An Argument”
One of the more obscure tracks from the group, “The Shrine/An Argument” still follows the common theme of love, though in this case, heartbreak. The song is played in three eponymous parts: one where the narrator is almost forcing himself to accept happiness in life after a breakup, another delving into the argument that ended it all, and a third act where the narrator is discontent with his loneliness. The song is haunting, particularly between the second and third acts, which contains a scratching, whining riff that really gets under your skin.
8. “Sun It Rises”
Fleet Foxes follows a tradition of great artists taking advantage of the assortment of their tracks on an album. If you decided to listen to the band's releases in order for the first time ever, this is the first song you'd hear. And it's about waking up in the morning.
7. “Mykonos”
Many interpretations of one of the band’s most popular songs describes the narrator’s relationship with someone close to him, somebody who either runs away from his problems, or runs toward unhealthy ways of coping with strife. Arguments, frustration, and slamming doors ensue while the narrator longs for a healthier relationship with a friend/relative whom he loves.
6. “White Winter Hymnal”
Maybe more famous for the Pentatonix cover, this song was one of the first singles from Fleet Foxes, released in 2009. Like many other tracks from the band, the song is about adventure, while applying the visual cues of a season (winter, in this case). Making use of Robin Pecknold's penchant for lyricism, it paints an image in your head: a snowy landscape, and a line of weary travelers, with only red wrapped around their necks.
5. “Bedouin Dress”
A song that caters to the bookish and the romantics, “Bedouin Dress” is about love. About receiving love, about never giving it, or perhaps never finding the right person to give it to. “Innisfree” is a favorite subject of Robin Pecknold, and usually refers to some form of physical or emotional paradise; in this particular track, it refers to the memories of a girl in a geometric pattern dress who the narrator could have given his all for, but never did.
4. “Third of May”
The most recent single out of the band, “Third of May” comes from the third studio album, and dives into the hiatus that forced fans of the Fleet Foxes to wait almost seven years for more material. Robin Pecknold has spent the past few years pursuing a degree, and each member of the band has taken time to grow individually; some relationships between members in better shape than others. However, when it seemed time to bring the Foxes back together, it resulted in an album that I can’t stop listening to.
3. “Ragged Wood”
From an album that contains so much about heartbreak, and abandonment, “Ragged Wood” is everything we love about Fleet Foxes. It’s a love song. Adventure, the beauty of nature, the wonder of the changing of the seasons. It’s a song about being in love.
2. “Montezuma”
Pinning down the meaning of this song is quite the task, but the themes can be picked out if you search for them. For the most part, it’s about contentment and simplicity. We live in such a physical world, where what you have is who you are. “Montezuma” talks about a world without so much materialism, and about the world that this next generation will create.
1. “Helplessness Blues”
The second single off of the band's second LP release, “Helplessness Blues” is an anthem for anybody who's ever decided to be content; to live with what you've got, to settle for enough, and to stop concerning about trying to have it all. For the millennial generation of travelers, doer’s, and world changers, it’s a song about letting life happen.
There you have it, the top ten Fleet Foxes songs. It's okay if you disagree; all of their songs are perfect.
