Preceded by the lauded Sun Giant EP and the enchanting single ‘White Winter Hymnal’, Fleet Foxes’ debut LP was one of the most eagerly hyped releases of the year, and ended up as probably the strongest across-the-board performer in the end-of-year lists. It’s a stunning album, combining the layered, almost spiritual vocal harmonies of tracks like ‘Ragged Wood’, ‘He Doesn’t Know Why’ and the superb ‘Quiet Houses’ with the sparse, wracked Americana of ‘Tiger Mountain Peasant Song’ and the windswept intensity of ‘Your Protector’. Whether the secret to their success is the way Fleet Foxes seems rooted in an idealised, nostalgic vision of America – conveying a sense of community and brotherhood that seems in short supply in modern-day society – or the rich detail and warmly retro feel of the music, the Seattlites touched the hearts and minds of many in 2008.
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