On today's mix...
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes (2008)

Given the cover art for their eponymous full-length debut, Fleet Foxes seem to be new entrants in an unlikely indie-minstrel movement (not the black-faced kind). It's not often that comparisons to Joanna Newsom seem particularly fitting, but the songwriting on songs like "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" and the theatrical "Your Protector" simply beg them, which I mean in the best way possible. Of course, as with any band so clearly talented, they're not quite that easy to pigeonhole. The sound here is fuller and folksier than Newsom--the instrument of choice is guitar, and lush harmonies abound--but the results are nearly as impressive.

It's actually difficult to get past the sheer pleasantness of the album's sound at first, but close attention pays off. The lively, windy "Ragged Wood" makes a strong early impression, and closer "Oliver Jones" is the album's sparsest track--making it also the most immediately accessible--but the songwriting and melodicism is sharp throughout. This is an album made for repeat listens and close ones, but it's not a difficult album. It sounds as great playing in the background as on your iPod. It's an debut to fall in love with, proving that Fleet Foxes are decidedly worth the hype.

9/10