Fleet Foxes - Crack-Up +Choral Version (2017/2018) [Hi-Res]

After a six-year break during which frontman Robin Pecknold vanished to the Washington woods then reappeared as a college student in New York, Fleet Foxes return with a fresh sense of purpose. Expanding on the harmony-driven sound of their first two albums, Crack-Up boasts both pretty, straightforward folk tunes (“Naiads, Cassadies,” “Fool’s Errand”) and sprawling, suite-like explorations (“Third of May / Odaigahara,” “I Am All That I Need / Arroyo Seco / Thumbprint Scar”) that are at once comforting and quietly avant-garde. It’s a balance that allows the band’s natural sweetness—and wild ambition—to shine.

Fleet Foxes are led by vocalist/guitarist Robin Pecknold, who fashioned his band's earthy, harmony-rich sound in honor of perennial classic rockers Bob Dylan, Neil Young, the Zombies, and the Beach Boys. Mixing baroque pop with elements of classic rock and British folk, the band took shape in 2006, as Pecknold was joined by guitarist Skyler Skjelset, bassist Bryn Lumsden, drummer Nicholas Peterson, and keyboardist Casey Wescott. After playing only a handful of shows, the band generated a healthy amount of label interest and caught the attention of local producer Phil Ek, who had previously helmed records by Built to Spill and the Shins. Ek worked with the band on its Sun Giant EP, which was issued by Sub Pop Records in spring 2008. Fleet Foxes' self-titled debut full-length followed that summer, earning them critical respect in America as well as healthy sales in the U.K., where the band's debut went platinum. That same year, the group was joined by singer/songwriter J. Tillman (Josh Tillman) on drums, and he appeared on the band's sophomore studio outing, 2011's well-received Helplessness Blues, before leaving the den and reinventing himself as Father John Misty. In 2014, Pecknold announced that he was pursuing a degree at Columbia University in New York City, and Fleet Foxes effectively went on hiatus. Two years later, they had returned to recording, and by early 2017 announced the June release of their third full-length, Crack-Up, a concept album titled after the F. Scott Fitzgerald collection of essays.