Fleet Foxes "Helplessness Blues" reviewed.

Any band that uses close harmony singing as part of their approach is going to invite comparisons to what preceded it. But if the songs are good , then that trumps everything else. In the case of Robin Pecknold and his band Fleet Foxes, these comparisons are more of a result of hard work and talent than they are an attempt to ape someone else’s style. Simply because the songs are good. Damn good. The melodic paths are taken so carefully that they often surprise, but nothing seems forced and I enjoy the underplaying that allows these grooves to just breathe.

The first two minutes of the first single and title track is so reminicent of The Everly Brothers in both spirit and execution it's uncanny. Also among the early favorites are "Sim Sala Bim" which I can only describe as Crosby Stills and Nash (or maybe even America) paired up with the bass and drum approach of XTC's "Mummer" LP. In fact, you could make that case for the whole enchilada (when you're not comparing it stylistically to SMiLE-era Beach Boys). "Grown Ocean" and "Battery Kinzie" are among the LP’s heavier moments and these collectively gallop out of the gate with the power and complexities of great early 1970’s progressive rock .

Having said this, to try and connect the music of Fleet Foxes with specific periods in the history of American pop is to ultimately miss the point. Because after you ’re done comparing it to its influences it still comes down to whether it‘s good or not. “Helplessness Blues” is good. Not because of what it sounds like, but because of how it plugs into an emotion. Of a time when people got together and sang songs because that was their only entertainment. From songs of oppression, to creaky front porches in the Appalachian Mountains to crowded holiday living rooms in the suburbs, it’s a feeling that exists in each and every one of us.

These songs reach out and ask you to hum along, or at least tap your toe. Grab a pot from under the sink and bang on it. That’s what exists at the core of this record, but it’s only the spring board. From there these humble folk songs are crafted into aerodynamic gliders of sound that are just as adventurous as they are accessible.