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Fleet Foxes Wiki Information
Fleet Foxes
is a five-piece Seattle-based band signed to Sub Pop and Bella Union. The band came to prominence in 2008 with the release of their second EP, Sun Giant
, and their debut full length album Fleet Foxes
. Both Sun Giant
and their eponymous debut album received much critical praise and reviewers often noted their use of refined lyrics and vocal harmonies. The quintet describes its music as "baroque harmonic pop jams". [1]
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FLEET FOXES TICKETS
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History
Formation and early years
Robin Pecknold and Skye Skjelset both attended Lake Washington High School in Kirkland, a suburb of Seattle, and soon became close friends. [ [2] Pecknold and Skjelset bonded over a mutual appreciation of Bob Dylan and Neil Young and began making music together. [3] Their parents influenced their musical tastes early on — Skjelset's mother was a keen listener of both Bob Dylan and Hank Williams while Pecknold's father was a member of The Fathoms, a local 1960s soul group. [4] The two were interested in the achievements of Dylan and Brian Wilson and realized the importance of practicing music from a young age.
]
Originally going by the name "Pineapple", a name clash with another local band prompted a change and Pecknold decided upon "Fleet Foxes", suggesting that it was "evocative of some weird English activity like fox hunting".[ Pecknold took up the role of principal songwriter, both singing and playing guitar, while Skjelset played lead guitar.][ Pecknold's late-sixties pop style caught the attention of Seattle producer Phil Ek and he helped them record their first demo in 2006, the self-released Fleet Foxes
EP. [5] Ek was impressed with the band's songwriting, and upon hearing Pecknold for the first time, noted that "it was obvious that he had talent coming out of his ass."][ By late 2006 the Seattle press began to take notice of the band; Tom Scanlon of the Seattle Times
stated that he was impressed with the band's lyrics and musical maturity.][
]
With growing popularity on the local circuit, the band set about making their first album in early 2007, spending time in the studio with producer Ek in addition to recording material at home. However, funds for recording were tight, so the band members cobbled together what funds they had, which limited the time they had in the studio, and so the majority of the tracks were recorded in various band members' apartments, other spaces, or the basement of Pecknold's parents' house.[
]
Rise to prominence
Fleet Foxes were becoming alarmingly popular and by late 2007 they had attracted over a quarter of a million song plays over two months on their Myspace site. [6] Although the band had not released any of their recordings, they benefited from word of mouth exposure and their success soon translated into a record deal, signing with Warner Music subsidiary record label Sub Pop on January 18, 2008. The band completed the recording of their second EP, Sun Giant
, around the same time in preparation for upcoming tours. [7] Fleet Foxes began their spring tour with fellow Northwest band Blitzen Trapper on February 28, 2008. [8] The band's performances, first at the SXSW festival in March 2008, and then the Sasquatch! festival in May 2008, moved the band into the public consciousness, notably attracting attention from the European press for the first time.[
]
Sun Giant
was released internationally on April 8, 2008 and the group's brand of folk, rock and pop, marked by their use of vocal harmonies, was well received by the press. [9] Despite the warm critical reception, the group stated that the EP did not represent their full ambitions, serving merely as a CD to sell while on tour. [10] In May 2008 the band chose to extend their North American and European tour until September in support of their forthcoming album. Additionally, the band grew in number as songwriters Christian Wargo and J. Tillman joined Fleet Foxes on guitars and drums respectively. [11] Their debut full length album Fleet Foxes
was released shortly afterwards on June 3, 2008. [12] The album achieved similar critical success as the previous EP had. Fleet Foxes
received four stars from Rolling Stone
, who compared it to the likes of the Beach Boys, Animal Collective, and Crosby, Stills & Nash, [13] and a 9.0 out of 10 in a review by Pitchfork, as well as sharing the website's album of the year rank with the Sun Giant EP. [14] The Guardian
was particularly complimentary, awarding the album five stars and declaring it "a landmark in American music, an instant classic." [15] On June 24, 2008, Fleet Foxes
went to #1 on the CMJ Radio 200 Chart. [16] The album achieved an average rating of 87/100 from 30 critic reviews on aggregator website Metacritic. [17]
While the group enjoyed moderate success in the United States, Fleet Foxes
was better received in Europe, selling over 200,000 copies in the first five months following its release. [18] The sales were matched with critical plaudits and their debut album won ''Uncuts first ever Music Award 2008 prize. [19]
Uncut'' editor Allan Jones said that the album "showed impeccable musicianship, and though you could trace its antecedents, it sounded totally unique. Fleet Foxes was just a glorious debut." The band sold out music venues for their tours of Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, reaffirming their growing popularity.[ [20]
]
At the end of 2008, Fleet Foxes
was rated album of the year by ''Billboards Critic's Choice and in Metacritic's end of year best album round-up it appeared in 17 lists, topping six of them. [21] [22] Furthermore, it had sold over 210,000 copies in North America and over 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom, making it the first gold certificate record for UK label Bella Union. [23] Their growing profile enabled the band to make televised appearances, playing on Vincent Moon's "La Blogotheque" in December 2008 and on Saturday Night Live the following January. [24] In 2009, they toured in Europe to favorable reviews; Dutch newspaper
De Volkskrant'' said their show in Paradiso induced goosebumps. [25]
On July 29, 2009, they kicked off their North American tour at Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club. Initially sold out, they added another later show that sold out soon after.
Members
thumb 2009.
- Robin Pecknold - lead vocals, guitar
- Skyler Skjelset - lead guitar, mandolin
- Christian Wargo - bass, guitar, vocals
- Casey Wescott - keyboards, vocals
- Josh Tillman - drums, vocals, arrangements
Discography
Albums
Year
| Album
| Peak Chart Positions
|
UK
| US
| GER
| ITA
| SWE
| NOR
| BEL
|
2008
| Fleet Foxes
- Released: 3 June 2008 in the US
- Released: 9 June 2008 in the UK
- Labels: Bella Union, Sub Pop
- Format: CD, Vinyl
| 3
| 36
| 51
| 51
| 16
| 14
| 12
|
Extended Plays
Year
| EP details [26]
| Peak chart positions
|
US
| FIN
| GER
| JPN
| NLD
| SWE
| UK [27]
|
2006
| Fleet Foxes
- Released 2006 (US)
- Labels Bella Union, Sub Pop
- Format: CD
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
2008
| Sun Giant
- Released April 8 2008
- Labels Bella Union, Sub Pop
- Format: CD
| 176
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.
|
Singles
Year
| Single
| Chart positions
| Album
|
UK
| BEL
|
2008
| "White Winter Hymnal"
| 77
| -
| Fleet Foxes
|
2008
| "He Doesn't Know Why"
| -
| -
|
2009
| "Mykonos"
| 53
| 37
| Sun Giant [EP
|
2009
| "Your Protector"
| -
| -
| Fleet Foxes
|
References
- Fleet Foxes, Waterfront, Norwich
- Seattle's Most Influential People
- Fleet Foxes' Perfect Harmony
- On the hunt for meaning with Seattle band Fleet Foxes
- Fleet Foxes sing it their way
- No 272: Fleet Foxes
- It's Official: Fleet Foxes Sign with Sub Pop
- Billboard.com on Fleet Foxes
- Sun Giant EP Review
- Album: Fleet Foxes, Sun Giant (Bella Union)
- Fleet Foxes Add New Member, More Tour Dates
- Fleet Foxes Review
- Fleet Foxes
- Fleet Foxes LP Review
- Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes
- Let the light in: With their self-titled debut, Fleet Foxes are putting a new shine on folk music
- Fleet Foxes by Fleet Foxes
- Fleet Foxes' coup signals folk revival
- Uncut Music Award winner revealed
- Sauma, Luiza (2008-12-07). Fleet Foxes: Are a hairy bunch of young folk-rockers inventing a new sound of Seattle?. ''The Independent''. Retrieved on 2009-01-29.
- The 10 Best Albums of the Year (Critics' Choice). '''' (2008). Retrieved on 2009-01-29.
- Metacritic: Best Albums of 2008
- Paine, Andre (2008-12-23). Fleet Foxes Go Gold In United Kingdom. ''''. Retrieved on 2009-01-29.
- La Blogotheque Show Ep.1
- Kippenvel bij optreden Fleet Foxes in Paradiso
- Fleet Foxes > Discography > Singles & EPs
- UK Top 40 Chart Archive, British Singles & Album Charts
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