By Will Bernish ’13, Contributor
After their 2008 self-titled release, Seattle-based band Fleet Foxes had just begun to show the world what they were capable of. Their previous two EPs were not low quality by any means, but that eponymous 2008 album proved that they were not only different than other baroque pop/folk artists, but that they were just as good. In Helplessness Blues, Fleet Foxes ditch the pop sounds of Sun Giant and Fleet Foxes in favor of a more melodic sound and moodier, more personal lyrics, while retaining the beautiful vocal harmonies and charm that make their discography so great.
Helplessness Blues takes the Fleet Foxes sound in new directions. Softer and smoother in some places, and much more intense in others, the songs have an added quirkiness that proves that the band is not afraid to take risks. The first half of “Sim Sala Bim” combines Robin Pecknold’s gliding vocals, accompanied by harmonies, and a soft acoustic guitar melody, only to give way to a sudden outburst of pure, energetic folk music. “The Plains / Bitter Dancer” puts together a moaning intro that accurately displays the vocal talents of Fleet Foxes: an almost march-like few verses, and an outro with even more vocally harmonic ear candy. The title track layers some of the vocals under a wailing electric guitar. And “The Shrine / An Argument” introduces a dying saxophone interlude in an album dominated by strings.
Not only do they try new instruments, the members of Fleet Foxes display their technical skills more prominently throughout Helplessness Blues. Every other song, it seems, contains a fast-paced acoustic guitar part, that is layered under everything else but definitely should not be ignored. Pecknold really stretches his vocal cords out in “The Shrine / An Argument” every time he sings “Sunlight over me no matter what I do.”
Perhaps the most striking difference in Helplessness Blues is that the lyrics are moodier and much more personal than any on Fleet Foxes. They all seem to follow one story, whether of Pecknold himself or a fictional character, I do not know, but the tracks tell of a man questioning his role in life, committing to change, and trying to find truth in a working life. But what’s gripping is that he doesn’t find it, he worries if he can make it through the struggle of life. The man goes from renouncing his individuality in the title track: “And now after some thinking, I’d say I’d rather be/A functioning cog in some great machinery serving something beyond me,” to having a near-existential crisis in “Blue Spotted Tail”: “Why is life made only to end?”
But what’s so great about this new album is that it has none of the pop hooks Fleet Foxes had, but it is still easily-accessible. Despite incorporating new instruments and quirkier songwriting, Helplessness Blues keeps the classic sound that made their self-titled album so great. I would certainly look into the Fleet Foxes discography if you’re a fan of Mumford & Sons or Bon Iver, but I wouldn’t start at Helplessness Blues. But, if you had to start at this album, you should look up either “Battery Kinzie” or the title track. Fleet Foxes, though the members all look like filthy mountain hipsters, is not a band to be ignored, and hopefully they will gain more recognition for the great albums they put out, like Helplessness Blues