popwreckoning

Granted they only formed two years ago and didn’t release The Perpetual Machine until this year, but Fullbloods is the type of band you listen to and wonder why you weren’t listening sooner.

Fullbloods, from Kansas City, mixes various eras and styles, from the 60s to present, from western to surf rock influence.

Their sound spectrum is the one of the most broad any band has hit in one album without being merely “experimental.” (This band is made of four trained audio engineers – of course they can play anything – and well.)

They also add some effects, bells and keyboard on “Flowers.” (Is that a xylophone in there, too?) But instead of being a sappy love song like you may assume from the title and its seemingly positive vibe, the lyrics cleverly fight against the symbol of giving, or in this case, receiving, flowers: “Flowers, you think you can win me back with flowers and several notes that say what I’ve done is what everyone wants? Well, that’s a lie/Flowers, I wish you’d have known that I hate flowers. Best case scenario, your water will dry and you’ll watch them quickly die – what a waste.”

Every track is upbeat and fun (with the exception of “Alaska,” which could probably make me cry on a bad day) and filled with sharp lyrics focused on babies, morning sickness, family and the difficulties of adjusting to adulthood.

This band is clearly not going to settle for anything generic or predictable, and they deserve some recognition for stretching such boundaries and taking the time to create their art. But more than that, they make great music that you won’t want to miss out on any longer.

Track Listing:
1. Candy
2. Court Jester
3. Morning Sickness
4. Bourgeoisie
5. Strangers
6. Work
7. Flowers
8. Chastity
9. Alaska
10. The Perpetual Machine
11. Accident
12. Hell: A Narrative

I Am Very Far is another step forward for Will Sheff’s band of merry men. Sheff’s music is primarily lyric driven, but for the first time they’ve made what is unquestionably a headphone record. Sheff states his goal for the album as being “to push my brains in places it didn’t want to go.” I’ve yet to figure out the thread tying these songs together, but being an Okkervil River record, it must have one. I’m going to run through most of the songs, so people might get a better feel for it. It rewards careful analysis.

The first track, “The Valley” sounds like Sheff burning what went before. He sings: “slicked back bloody black gunshot to the head. He has fallen in the valley of the rock and roll dead.” The previous OR albums, The Stage Names and The Stand Ins were concepts albums about pop stardom. They were meant to be considered together. This song sounds like Sheff firing a shot across the bow of his previous work, as if to send a warning to the listener that this is something new. The song is a barn burner. It’s slamming drums, clinking piano keys, and intense strings. The song sounds like a person setting a building on fire, and then running around it, while laughing maniacally.

The second song, “Piratess,” starts funky, and stays funky for most of it’s three minutes. There’s a bit of chaos swirling about, but the song manages to keep control. It’s a song about wanting “not to be like them.” The narrator sings about a woman out of control. He tries to control her, tries to suppress her with his insecurities. It’s a little harrowing.

“Rider” begins with a guitar blast, and morphs into a somewhat upbeat song. It’s another one full of pianos and banging drums. There’s a million things going on at once, for most of the songs. It seems to be about the ruins of a relationship, and the general chaos of life.

Track 5, “White Shadow Waltz,” starts with strange keyboards which Sheff sings over. The drums kick, and shortly after, things get strange. The backing track fades out a little, and the singing style changes a little. It’s very disorientating, and very cool. Words can’t begin to cover what’s going on here.

“Haging From A Hit” is a nice little waltz of a love song. It mines territory Sheff has covered before, but in a new way. The line “I lie back on my pillow and ask what her husband is like” immediately reminds me of ‘Maine Island Lovers” From Down The River Of Golden Dreams. Whereas that was an apathetic piece of morbid wonderment told from the point of view of the woman, this is most assuredly a love song. It’s an amazing piece of writing. The first half is the man talking about what he feels like with this woman, the second half is her telling him how she feels with her husband. It’s one of those instant classic OR songs that leaves a lot to ponder.

“Your Past Life As a Blast” reminds me of Big Star for whatever reason. It’s a steady piece of jangle pop, and a fantastically complex love song.

Track 10, “Wake and Be Fine,” is the first single, and another in a long line of incredible Okkervil River singles. It’s a loud spitfire thing, full of fear and falling trees. The video should be seen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHaCtxW6Vv8

“The Rise” ends things with six minute of piano, and call and response. It’s a mellow ending, but not a happy one. It seems to be about dying, and is kind of the perfect way to end things.

I adore this record. It’s almost as good as Black Sheep Boy in my mind. Okkervil River manages to do something dramatically different with every record. I’ll be dissecting and digesting this for years to come. OR have been one of my favorite bands since 2002, and they rarely disappoint.

Track Listing:
1. The Valley
2. Piratess
3. Rider
4. Lay of the Last Survivor
5. White Shadow Waltz
6. We Need A Myth
7. Hanging from a Hit
8. Show Yourself
9. Your Past Life As a Blast
10. Wake and Be Fine
11. The Rise

Seattle’s newest stars, the Head and the Heart, rocked the house in their first headlining gig at the Showbox at the Market this past Friday. They already had the Showbox scheduled, but when that show sold out in just over 17 minutes, they added a second show at the Moore Theatre the next day.

Needless to say, this band is going places.

To open the show was Salt Lake City’s The Devil Whale, who proclaimed to the exuberant audience, “it was a year ago when we played a show with the Head and the Heart at a little place called the Comet Tavern. Look at how far they’ve come!” It is quite a miraculous feat, seeing that the Head and the Heart has only been playing together for just over a year.

But the Devil Whale put on a great show – mixing sunny 60s-tinged pop rock with blues hooks that made you want to sway back and forth to their songs. “Golden” and “Magic Numbers” were two standout tracks, which are equally as good on their CD Teeth, which they were selling at the merch table. “Werewolf Army” was another splendid track, a subdued ballad full of passion and sadness.

After an enjoyable set, Poulsbo, WA natives Lemolo took the stage as the second act of the night.

Lemolo had opened for the Head and the Heart back in January when I saw them at Neumo’s, and I instantly fell in love with their sound, and this time it was no different. While sound check took a while, it was all worth it, because the girls, Meagan Grandall and Kendra Cox, bring so much sound between the two of them. With Grandall on guitar and keyboards and Cox on drums and keyboards, they create a simple sultry Seattle sound. Their sound spams from the upbeat dreamy pop of “Open Air,” the melancholy of “Beautiful Night” and the bluesy and sexy “Who Loves.”

And just as well as their band’s intense stage presence, they girls are charming to speak with, so I suggest the next chance you get to see them, you stop at the merch table and say ‘hey.’

Lemolo left the stage, and several people made their way up to the front where I was standing, making the crowd even denser than before. I didn’t expect there to be as many drunk people as there were, but one girl leaned over to me and slurred to me, “Do you wanna be famous?” as she shook my hand with the wrong hand. At least they were nice enough to let me stand in front of them while I could take photos.

The band took the stage, and you would have thought that Eddie Vedder was standing at the back, because people went nuts. I guess for good reason, because not only is the Head and the Heart an amazing band, they got signed to SubPop this year, they are playing the main stage at the Sasquatch Music Festival, and they’re touring with Iron and Wine. This is a good year for Seattle music.

Singer Josiah Johnson sported a Conor Byrne pub t-shirt, which was fitting, seeing that the band got their start playing open mics at the pub in Ballard. It even sold out earlier this year. An open mic sold out. Seriously.

After a drawn-out intro laden with Beastie Boys music, the band jumped right into “Cats and Dogs,” surrounded by old lamps that lit up the stage. After “Cats and Dogs,” the energy never stopped. The Head and the Heart is one of those bands that genuinely looks like they’re having the time of their life on stage. They make it look so easy, and so much fun. It makes me want to start a band.

While it was awesome to hear all the songs I’ve been listening to non-stop on the album like “Lost in my Mind” and “Down in the Valley,” some of my favorite moments of the night were with new songs – one that I don’t even know the title of. “Josh McBride” was a beautiful ballad that was so moving, that I almost started crying. I loved that song so much, and I wish I’d gotten in on video, just so I could listen to it over and over again since it isn’t on the record. But if you’d like to listen to it, Fuel Friends Blog did record a Chapel Session back in March. Another great moment was when singer Jonathan Russell took the stage solo with his acoustic guitar in a fantastic lament. It was met with a bunch of hoots and hollers as Russell hit the big notes.

In fact, there was plenty of screaming that night. One woman in front of me has noticed the Conor Byrne shirt and made it well known to the rest of the audience, and at another point she shouted out “We love you!” which Johnson replied back with “We love you too.” And the most uproarious applause came during the final part of the amazing track “Rivers and Roads,” one that’s so good that they had to include it on the album when Sub-Pop rereleased it this year. In the bridge of the song, where violinist Charity Rose Thielen starts singing, people screamed, again, like Eddie Vedder had suddenly taken the stage.  Thielen does definitely bring something special to the band, and that’s more than just lovely harmonies.

It had been awhile since I’d felt so much love at a show, and it was well-deserved. I know I’m excited to see what’s next for the Head and the Heart, because I can say I was there before they made it big.

Visit http://www.theheadandtheheart.com/

The Antlers are a dreamy and mellow indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York fronted by Peter Silberman. Originally, the band was only a solo project of Silberman’s, but after releasing an album under his own name he recruited two other members to constitute the group that they are today. The band recorded two EPs, Cold War and New York Hospitals, and eventually took Silberman’s collection of songs and turned into the narrative that is Hospice, which they released independently. Sales soared though, the band joined French Kiss Records, and remastered and re-released the album to make up for selling out of their personal stock. For a band that probably had no intentions of “making it big,” they definitely hit the jackpot, scoring a spot on Lollapalooza’s 2010 lineup as well as numerous “Best of 2010″ album lists.

As an avid lover of The Antlers’ first album, Hospice, I was anxiously awaiting the day I could get my hands on a copy of the new album Burst Apart. They set the initial bar pretty high for themselves and the pressure to produce a quality second album was daunting. How do you follow up something so emotionally taxing? Burst Apart lives up to all of the curiosity and anticipation surrounding it. It’s no epic, heart-wrenching storyline, but it’s an absolutely gorgeous album.

The album begins with “I Don’t Want Love” and listeners can immediately see that this album is going somewhere. While Hospice moved forward through lyrics alone, often getting lost in ethereal sounds and swells, Burst Apart has melody and a pace to it. I like to pretend that “Parentheses” is an intentional nod to Sigur Ros‘ sound and the fact that they have an album titled (); Silberman’s vocals are unreal and haunting at times. He has a falsetto that produces goosebumps as well as a great voice within normal range. (I also like to pretend that “No Windows” sounds like that one song from Flashdance. Both of these ridiculous assumptions, but I like to make up these kinds of stories in my head.) “Rolled Together” is sparse in lyrics, but one of my favorites on the album. The first full minute of the song is a gradual swell of that gorgeous falsetto and though the lyrics are hushed and muddled,  you get a sense of optimism. “Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out” features sparse pluckings on a banjo and a more upbeat tempo, and I can appreciate the clarity of this song. The fuzzy sound of Hospice is no longer present on this album; sounds are crystal clear and the band is no longer hiding behind a veil. “Tiptoe” is a nice instrumental track, transitioning nicely to the last couple of songs. “Hounds” slides around lazily with warbling high notes and far away trumpets interspersed throughout. It’s a dreamy song that fits the mood of the album. “Putting The Dog To Sleep,” though a bit of a downer for a last song, finishes the album well.

With such an intensely emotional piece of work like Hospice, it’s impossible not to compare the two albums. There is so much growth to be seen with their sophomore release and I’m delighted with the direction they’re headed. Buy this album. At the very least, internalize the lyrics and appreciate their simplicity and the beautiful poetry that they are. Play the album when you’re laying in bed at night. Play it while driving towards a sunset with the windows down. Play it and appreciate it as a whole album.

Track Listing:
1. I Don’t Want Love
2. French Exit
3. Parentheses
4. No Widows
5. Rolled Together
6. Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out
7. Tiptoe
8. Hounds
9. Corsicana
10. Putting the Dog to Sleep

When a Facebook page for the former Kansas City band the Golden Republic surfaced in mid-April, a lot of people were buzzing with what exactly that meant. After a few weeks of promises and hints, we finally have some information on what’s going on and it’s very good news.

The original 1999 lineup of the indie pop band is reuniting! You’ll have a chance to see them perform once again during the Sonic Spectrum Anniversary Party. Sonic Spectrum’s Robert Moore made the announcement on his Facebook page Monday.

The original lineup consists of cousins Ben Grimes (Soft Reeds) and Ryan Shank (The Roman Numerals). The Republic Tigers’ Kenn Jankowski joined on guitar and Harry Anderson played bass.

Originally formed in 1999 under the name the People by cousins Ben Grimes and Ryan Shank, they were joined by Jankowski and bassist Harry Anderson

The party is June 25 at Kansas City’s RecordBar. Also on the bill are Secret Cities, Thee Water Moccasins and a special guest.

This is a show you won’t want to miss.

Local Kansas City band, Everyday/Everynight has been busy this year.

Here’s a recap so far:

-They played the MidCoast Takeover showcase at SXSW this year.

-Released an EP. I had the chance of getting my hands on this and it is extremely good.

-Love Drunk, this really awesome one-shot video project out of Omaha did a session with ED/EN at the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum here in Kansas City. To watch that go HERE. The song is “You’ve Died In A Dream” which can be heard on both the EP and upcoming full-length. The video was recorded on the first night of Love Drunk’s upcoming 15-date tour.

“A small crew of audio and video nerds will capture performances by acts from each city at visually, historically or otherwise interesting locations.” – lovedrunkstudio.com.

To check out their other projects, which capture talent from all sorts of media arts areas, go to lovedrunkstudio.com.

-Now, back on track. ED/EN also released “You’ve Died In A Dream” on a compilation done by PopWreckoning and Element Recording Studios (to get one, email casey@popwreckoning.com).

-They finished their third full-length album, etc.,  which is set to release on May 17. BUT pre-orders are available now. With the pre-order you will receive an immediate download of the entire album and get $2.00 off – $2.00! That’s two tacos!

Oh, and if the album is anything like the EP then make sure to pick up a copy. Which you can do  either online or from the band in person. Which brings me to my next point.

-Their upcoming tour!

May 20th – St. Louis, MO at Lemmon’s
May 21st – Lexington, KY at Underdogs
May 23rd – Philadelphia, PA at Kung-Fu Necktie
May 24th – New York, NY at Kenny’s Castaway
May 25th – New York, NY at Local 269
May 26th – Tillonsburg, ON at Norma Jeans
May 27th – Grand Rapids, MI at Pyramid Scheme
May 28th – Grand Rapids, MI at TQ’s Magic House
May 29th – Chicago, IL at Quenchers
May 30th – Madison, WI at High-Noon
May 31st – Minneapolis, MN at Cause
June 1st – Des Moines, IA at 504 Club
June 2nd – Iowa City, IA at The Mill
June 3rd – Omaha, NE at O’leavers
June 5th – Kansas City, MO at recordBar

Their Kansas City date is the release party for etc.

LINKS!
Love Drunk Session
Website
Facebook
Email

The Body Rampant just dropped a new EP, Transient Years. And prior to the EP’s drop, the experimental rock band took SXSW by storm. The group took the time during the festival to chat with PopWreckoning about how they formed, where they got equipped with their well-known paper mache mask accessories and more. You can check out the full interview with the band below:

PopWreckoning: How did you guys meet and form the Body Rampant?
J.M. Lopez, Vocals: I was playing an acoustic show back home and met our bass player, Dylan [Schleifstein]. He was playing in another band. I was in northern California at the time and moved down to LA with this kid, Dylan, and we just recruited basically all the members on different outlets. Me and Jacob [Nichols] had been in touring bands, previously in the past, like hardcore bands, stuff like that. We kind of knew each other–recruited him. Found Ryan [Sabouhi], our other guitar player. off Craigslist.
Ryan Sabouhi, Guitar: Yeah, Craigslist: a really good outlet for several different things – selling shit, etc.
JML: Then we found our drummer, Mike [Thomas]. He’s just a rockstar. We knew about him from basically everyone in town, you know what I mean?
Mike Thomas, Drums: Word of mouth
JML: Yeah, word of mouth. He’s a smoking drummer. We’ve got a good lineup. We’re pumped.

PW: How did the masks on stage thing come about?
MT: Basically,JM knows this guy, Duane Flatmo, who is just this incredible artist and he actually made all these masks out of paper mache. It just catches the eye with an alter-ego kind of thing.
JML: A lot of the breweries and local companies, he does art for them – murals. He’s a world famous artist – he’s been on the Tonight Show and shit. I just, well, he’s a local in northern California, where I’m from, so I’ve just always seen his stuff around. We just hit him up with our music and he liked it and was down to work with us.

PW: Did you draw any influence from other bands that use costumes/masks on stage?
Jake Nichols, Guitar: We don’t really use them on stage, so it’s not like we’re the KISS Army or something like that.
RS: We just use them to basically get our name out there and have this kind of huge thing going.
Dylan Schleifstein, Bass: I think we use them because it enables us – when we put the mask on it gives us the freedom to go out and do what we want and not worry about what else is going on
JML: Our bodies are basically rampant when we have the masks on – we can do what we want. We can get nuts. When we’re on stage, we still get nuts, but we’re a little more ourselves.

PW: What can people expect from your live show?
RS: Energy. Energy for days. We’re like a pop band, alternative rock band, but we like to rock.
JML: We hate when bands just stand there and they’re not loud. We like to be really loud and move around a lot.
MT: A lot of involvement. You want to get the crowd as involved as possible: best way to bring them on.
JN: We just try to have fun with our live show.

PW: Sounds great. Now you have a new EP, Transient Years. Tell me about that and how you came up with the album title?
JML: The album title is kind of loosely based around the masks as well because they’re transient – and it’s like when you’re stuck in time in one place and you’re doing nothing for so long – it sounded cool too. The album comes out April 5. We’re pretty stoked on it.

PW: Who would you say are some of your influences on the album?
DS: So many.
RS: We have varied, but similar musical styles. Casey Bates–we got to work with on a lot of the songs. Definitely working with a producer who had that much input and had worked with so many other big bands that could coach us to be as on point as possible. Musical styles? Could go for days. Anybody’s who’s good.
DS: We listen to hip hop, oldies, metal, grind – everything.
RS: You’d never know that by listening to the CD. A lot of different artists we listen to have to do with our style.

PW: So who are some of the people you’ve been checking out at SXSW? Have you had much time?
MT: That’s the problem when you’re a band at southby, you don’t have time to see your favorite artists. We tried a couple times.
JN: Saw Wiz Kalifa – that was awesome.
JML: Saw The Limousines – they were sick. Mike, did you see anyone? Mike was the drunkest, haha.
MT: Dude. I probably did, but I don’t remember. The Stroke s- I wanted to see the Strokes really bad.
DS: Saw the singer and drummer walking around. He was so dirty. haha.
MT: He gets paid basically to be that way.
DS: If i was him, I’d get that dirty.
JML: Girls love that.

PW: So what’s after South by for you?
JML: We are during a lot of online, commercial stuff.

PW: What’s your favorite social media outlet to reach out to your fans?
JML: Facebook.
DS: Facebook’s where’s it’s at.
JN: There’s been a lot of cool things we’ve seen popping up at SXSW and a lot of people approacing you about it. Everyone’s trying to build the new Twitter.
MT: The new iPhone app.
JN: We usually use Twitter and that goes to everything else. we like to keep it simple. post to Twitter.

You can follow the Body Rampant on Twitter here and find out more from them on Facebook here.

Being a duo opening for a big band such as Manchester Orchestra (big in number of members and success) can be a daunting challenge, but Brisbane’s An Horse was more than up for the challenge. 

The duo features Kate Cooper on vocals and guitar with Damon Cox on drums and backing vocals.

Cooper’s a small figure, so it’s a bit surprising when a ridiculously powerful voice comes booming out of her. At times she seemed like a female vocal version of tourmates Manchester Orchestra’s Andy Hull; and other times she seemed like Eisley‘s three singers, but with an Australian accent in place of the Texas one. Cooper packed a more powerful punch in her briefer lyrics than when she tried to stretch out vocals – one number in the middle seemed a little a grating, but she was otherwise a pleasant a surprise. She ran through songs about coping with separation and grief from life far from home, emulating the passion of the lyrics in both her vocals and her facial expressions.

Equally fascinating to watch was Cox. He basically had the duty of filling out a full band sound for Cooper’s vocals and was more than busy with drumming alone, but he also provided some great harmonies.

The band is listed as indie pop on the web – but their spunky beats and edgy vocals harkens them back to their punk roots.

Though you might debate their name (which does come from a grammar dispute about ‘a’ or ‘an’ before ‘horse’), you won’t found yourself debating their talent.

They just joined with Manchester Orchestra for a series of tour dates. Be sure to check them out here.

As a reviewer of the music, constantly exposed to all walks of bands, sometimes you just need to rock it out. Sometimes you just need that show that will leave you faceless, sweating from every crevass and ears blown. Now granted, having been a previous fan, I knew this show would be good. But I had NO idea it would be THAT good. Therefore, when the fellas of Manchester Orchestra recently took the stage in Kansas City they proceeded to fill the need – the need for Rock ‘n Roll.

Being that it was the first stop on their headlining tour, naturally there were a few – well – kinks, to work out. A touch of difficulty in the monitors and a dash of feedback from the mics were just minor hiccups in the night. But from the first song “April Fool,” the night was set at a high octane. The songs’ classic rock elements including: a lead guitar piercing through with its hip note progressions, a bass that keeps an ever-so-slight groove going and vocals full of raw energy – are the elements that got this crowd officially kicking.

The set list rolled through selections from not only the new album Simple Math, but also I’m Like A Virgin Losing A Child and their previous success story Mean Everything To Nothing. A stand out from the “older” songs was “Now That You’re Home.” The brutal transitions between the soft melodic verses and the slashing guitar breaks that fell in the normal chorus slots, kept each head in that place methodically banging.

Another selection off the new album was the pep-fest found in “Pensacola.” The tone of this song almost sounded like a parody of an actual song. The eagerness in each musician was easy to see. And the vocals were similar to that of a cheerleader’s chant, while the repetitive chipper drum beats only furthered the slightly odd nature of the song.

After a pause or two to connect (individually) with the audience, the set shifted back to an “oldie-but-goodie.” Even though “Colly Strings” doesn’t initially come off as a song of the same potential that the rest of the night had, you simply have to give it a moment. Eventually a combination of dramatic drums beats and long, drawn out strums, gave the sense of tears shedding for the bands’ rock ballad. Sure the tempo gradually breaks out and vocals are grabbed from a little lower in the gut, but, in general, the song remains at some level of “ballad-ness,” and an excellent example of the pure talent on stage that night.

A few numbers off Mean Everything To Nothing finished off the traditional set. And after the “we’re-gonna-walk-off-stage-just-to-come-back-in-two-minutes” break, we were met with dance hit “Shake It Out.” Seriously, in the live environment, that’s what this song was. Similar to the energy found with Taking Back Sunday, this song is extremely quick and extremely fun. The lead guitar pretty much sticks to the same 3-4 notes, but those notes are done with such insanity, it begs the question why you’d need more. Complete with an angry scream in the latter half of the song, it was a perfect selection to keep the crowd awake.

“Are you guys ok if we don’t play ‘Friends’”? This question was met with a mixture of boos and hoots. Even the band couldn’t figure what the audience wanted to do. Regardless, if you’re a band at that level, you pretty much know you have to play your hit from your prior album, whether you really want to or not. And they did. It was awesome.

The set was supposed to end with “Simple Math” (per the setlist I snapped a shot of), but instead they ran out of time and left the evening with a cover and the song: “Where Have You Been?” Because of this, they left the sounds of my new favorite Manchester song ringing in my ears. As a fan of the slightly darker, more alternative bands, this song fit perfectly. From the eerie ween of the guitar in the beginning, to the harmonizing vocals set in the bass octave, the entire song was anything but cheery. But it was the predominant guitar part, with its chord progression set at the top of the neck, that carried the entire 4 min and 28 seconds. And still repeats in my head.

After this show I could only come to one conclusion – I’ve been listening to the wrong Manchester Orchestra songs this entire time!

Indie folk band Fleet Foxes originated in Seattle, Washington in 2006 and I’m disappointed I jumped on the bandwagon so late. My love began once upon a time when it was still cool to buy Target’s “Artists On The Verge” CDs. I’ll be honest. I judge albums by their covers and thank goodness Fleet Foxes’ self-titled had a cool one. (Didn’t hurt that it was on sale either.) I picked that sucker up without even knowing who or what I was getting myself into. Upon hearing everyone’s favorite song of 2008, “White Winter Hymnal,” I was entranced. With goosebump-inducing harmonies and covers all over YouTube, it’s a hard one to miss.

Their newest effort Helplessness Blues is every bit a masterpiece and definitely beats the dreaded sophomore slump. And there was a lot of pressure riding on this album; it’s been close to three years since their debut flung them into sold-out venues. I have no doubt this album will throw them right back up to the top once again.

The second album: you want to keep your sound, but you don’t want to create the same album over again. Fleet Foxes made it work perfectly. There are still heavenly harmonies and the basic instrumentation is very much the same. But they’ve certainly branched out, adding some saxophone at the end of “The Shrine/An Argument” and soft, ethereal flutes throughout “Grown Ocean.” I try to shy away from comparing one band to another; each and every one of us is biased with personal preferences and back stories. So I hope when I say that I hear nods to Grizzly Bear and Sufjan Stevens, Fleet Foxes and other music lovers will take it as the absolute highest of compliments. There’s a happy, dreamy quality to this album and frankly I’m obsessed with it.

Stand out favorites include the instrumental “The Cascades,” “Grown Ocean” because of it’s atmospheric quality and the personal thoughts of Grizzly Bear that arise in my head, and “The Plains/Bitter Dancer.” You would be a fool to not give this album a listen; it’s a great group of songs and I can’t wait to hear it played live. Check out Fleet Foxes lengthy Spring/Summer tour dates here and act fast! Both US and UK shows are selling out quickly.

Track Listing:

1 Battery Kinzie
2 Bedouin Dress
3 Blue Spotted Tail
4 The Cascades
5 Grown Ocean
6 Helplessness Blues
7 Lorelai
8 Montezuma
9 The Plains/Bitter Dancer
10 The Shrine/An Argument
11 Sim Sala Bim
12 Someone You’d Admire