When it comes to recording, Fleet Foxes extol the benefits of taking your time. After spending nearly eight months holed up in their newly acquired Seattle studio, the band announced the completion of their second album. But they were a little premature in doing so. After heading over to New York, they are currently in lockdown mode, busy putting the finishing touches to the planned springtime release.
Fleet Foxes’ frontman Robin Pecknold says that Graham Nash’s catalogue of protest songs partly inspired the album and that the scenic beauty of Big Sur also helped the creative process. “There were visits here and there to other studios around Seattle like Bear Creek and Avast,” he says. “But I also took a number of trips down to Big Sur where a few songs got started too.”
Bringing folk right to the forefront of our collective musical consciousness again, the signature sound of Fleet Foxes’ debut was gleaned from soaring multi-vocal harmonies and delicate instrumentation. This latest album adventurously employs singing bowls and a dulcimer, but the lyrical content is more upfront than their last offering. “I think in every facet from music to lyrics to song length to structure we were trying to push ourselves a bit on this record,” explains Pecknold. “It’s a lot more personal to me and direct in terms of the lyrics and less shrouded in metaphor or visuals. Musically I’d say it’s still in the same family but hopefully just more refined.”
Words by April Welsh
Photos by Pecknold
Album title: TBC
Release date: Early spring
Producer: Robin Pecknold and Phil Ek
Songs include: ‘Lorelai’, ‘Blue Spotted Tail’, ‘Tripolee’, ‘SilverCity’, ‘Bedouin Dress’
Other facts: A 12-string guitar appears on almost every track.
