So I came across the name and album at Target about 2 weeks after this was released.  It was sitting in their "indie section."  You know.  The one that has 90% shitty music and 10% decent-to-awesome music.  I paid it no mind.  I had no idea who they were and thought they would just be a band that sounded like all the other garbage in that section.

I am completely wrong for thinking that.

I started hearing their name thrown around a bit more in different areas of the internets.  "Best Album of 2008 So Far" here and "Best New Artist" there.  And then there was an interview with one of my most favorite bands (Animal Collective) that peaked my interest.  They were playing at the recent Pitchfork Music Festival and sat down for an interview.  At the end of the interview, the reporter asked them "What band playing in the festival do you most want to see this weekend?"  They laughed and answered "Fleet Foxes."  Fleet Foxes had been playing during the interview.

So I went searching for a download.  Found it.  Downloaded it.

I'm hoping this review will get you interested, because they are absolutely worth checking out.  ESPECIALLY for these reasons:
You love good singers.
You love beautiful harmonies.
You love folk rock.
You love sixties music.
You love the Beach Boys.

The album starts with a lo-fi recording of the band singing and harmonizing the words "Red squirrel in the mornin', red squirrel in the evenin', red squirrel in the mornin' I'm comin' to take you home."  At the end of the line, the song bursts ever-so-softly into an acoustic guitar-driven piece called "Sun It Rises."  It's a true testament to sixties music with its 3-part harmonies and simple guitar parts.  In the mid-section of the song, drums are added and really give the song a bright feel, making it sound like a true and beautiful sunrise.
Just as the song comes to a soft closing, the lead singer begins to sing.  Pretty soon, the two other singers join him for another 3-part harmony.  This is where the album really REALLY begins to shine.  When an acoustic guitar joins in, the song truly starts and the vocals lead into an explosion of sparse drums and clean electric guitars.  It's a rhythmic, reverby folk song that's garnished with incredible melodies and some great lyrics.  This is the second song, "White Winter Hymnal," and it is infectious.  You just cannot help from singing along.
Before you can really process the amazing song you just heard, you're hit with the 3rd song, "Ragged Wood," which starts off with what I describe as the soundtrack to film of an old coal train winding its way through the Appalachians.  It's the first fast-paced song of the album and it's placed perfectly.  They're not trying to put you to sleep here.  They want you to listen and enjoy.  Proving that point, the song cuts off abruptly in the middle to a short segway that leads into the second part of the song.  No longer in 4/4 time, the song is now in 6/8 time and is at a slower pace than the beginning.  Somehow it still feels connected by that small joint piece in the middle.  It's an interesting change and shows off their musical talent.
The next song, "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song," is a slow acoustic ballad with some incredible vocals.  It is very obvious that the vocals carry the music in this band.  In fact, these first four songs do a pretty good job of summarizing the album.  It's not that the other 7 songs are bad.  In fact, that's far from the truth.  But if you don't like any of these 4 songs, you're not gonna like the rest of the album.  It's a welcome change to the bands nowadays that focus on guitar solos and hooks to make the song interesting rather than the vocals.  Of course, there's nothing wrong with great music.  But this band creates great songs.  Their music is crafted perfectly to be interesting but not pull too much attention from the talented vocalists.  This style is shown off in the closer, "Oliver James," one of the best songs on the album.  It's guitar and vocals.  That's it.  No frills.  I can't help but be impressed by this band.

What I really love about this album is that there are the old-time harmonies mixed with the driving percussion and playful guitars that you would hear in a modern day indie band.  It's a great blend that works.  But there are parts where the band's influences literally POP out at you.  In "Quiet Houses," after a small instrumental break, the song breaks out into a piano and guitar part that literally SCREAMS late Beach Boys/Brian Wilson.  They really want to let people know who they were inspired by.  This is proof that there can be a bridge between old and new.  This band is one of the best things to happen to music today.  While they aren't exactly a folk band, their sound is rooted in American folk artists like Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie.  From there, they branch out, touching surf music, folk rock and indie rock.  It's distinctly early-sounding.

I put this album on during my father's recent birthday.  I was sitting outside with it playing in the background when my Aunt, who grew up in the sixties, asked who the band was.  I told her they were called Fleet Foxes and she said "I can't believe I missed this band."  When I told her that they are actually a new band and the album came out this year she couldn't believe it.  She wanted a copy of it immediately!

If you haven't heard this album, please go check it out.  There are plenty of easy ways to go about getting this album for free and I really don't care if you do.  But I will let you know that Target is offering this album for $7.98.  It's a bargain that I don't think you will regret taking advantage of.

Overall I give this album a 9.5/10.  This fusion of old and styles is extremely successful and I look forward to anything else they put out.  I will say that, while all 11 songs are very good, there are some that are much better than others, but even those are really good.  CHECK OUT THIS ALBUM.