Top 100 Albums of the Decade: #37 Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

Top 100 Albums of the Decade list will be posted over the course of 100 days. On September 23rd, we will post one album and continue every day until December 31st, when we will unveil our #1 album of the decade!

Please read our introduction to learn about our nominating and ordering process.

#37 Fleet Foxes - Self Titled

The Fleet Foxes' self-titled album opens with a hushed a cappella harmony before ushering in a soft acoustic guitar and the sparsest percussion. The song, entitled "Sun It Rises", unfolds, reveals its character a little by opening up into gentle crescendo and then quieting back down into silence. They've got the folk formula down but also feel comfortable incorporating other sounds and textures. Tracks like "White Winter Hymnal" play like a slowed-down Of Montreal or non-schizophrenic Animal Collective song with its catchy melody, whimsical lyrics and wafting "ooh" vocals.

The sound of this album is lush and layered from the subtly stacked vocals to the perfectly executed harmonies to the open-aired sound in all of their songs. Their range permits them to employ Shins-like peppiness and elongated delivery of Built To Spill within the same song, near silence with moments full of voices and character within the same album without alienating or losing its listeners.

- Kristian Richards

[ play ] | [ download mp3 ] Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal

Check back tomorrow for the next album! To see the full list of the Top 100 Albums of the Decade, click here.