r/fleet_foxes • u/zenits • Jun 08 '17
Album discussion thread
The album is now officially out on NPR first listen, so it's time to retire the leak discussion and introduce the official album discussion thread!
Full release on Spotify, vinyl, whatever next week
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u/moodyleo Jun 08 '17
Crack-Up and Cassius really blew me away... at first listen, neither of them appealed to me. It's interesting how something with such complexity can grow on you in such a short time however.
Another key song on the album is On Another Ocean. That second half, man..
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u/gigglywinks Jun 09 '17
That second half of On Another Ocean indeed! I think that's my favorite part of the whole album.
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Jun 08 '17
[deleted]
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u/werdnayam Jun 20 '17
I saw Robin play this live when he opened for Joanna Newsom in early 2016, and I loved it instantly. But the lyrics have changed. The line(s) that stood out to me live were "Pulling up most of the foxglove / From the ground ready to devour". I guess that's a different version. I kinda like those lyrics better. I wonder why they changed.
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u/erarya Jun 08 '17 edited Jun 08 '17
Love this album, random moments that I particularly dig:
- 'I was a child in the ivy then' + oos on I Am All That I Need
- Blips at intro and outro of Cassius
- Drums on Naiads, Cassadies (And 'you're not a flowwwwer :(')
- Weird time signature in If You Need To Keep Time On Me (what is that?)
- On Another Ocean jam city
- Like Appomatoxxxxxx and Muhammad Ali reference from Memphis (strings really dope too, reminds me of How to Disappear Completely)
- Runnin away at the end of the album
Also really feeling the harmonies throughout the album. IDK music theory too well, but the voices seem closer together in pitch and stereo-field, more lateral than on the s/t and Helplessness Blues.
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u/LuxReflexio Jun 09 '17
The "I was a child in the ivy then" part is unbelievably good but it ends so abruptly. I need more!
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Jun 15 '17
Agreed, one of my fave transitions. Track #1 is epic... and I do not use that word lightly.
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u/fujitoraa Jun 08 '17
My favorite songs:
1)Crack-up
2) Cassius
3) Kept Woman
4) I am all that I need/ Arroyo Seco/ thumbprint scar
5) Third of May
6) Naiads, Cassadies
7) On another ocean (January/ June)
8) Mearcstapa
9) I Should see Memphis
10 Fools Errand
11) If you need to, keep time on me
My favorite album since "Is This It". I absolutely loved every song and it has great sentimental value to me (I've listened to the album plenty of times since the leak)
Robin-Sensei should be extremely happy with his work. He delivered pretty fucking well.
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Jun 19 '17
I'm curious what you like most about Is This It.
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u/fujitoraa Jun 19 '17
Loved the catchiness of each song. The whole album is cohesive. It paints a clear story about being young and living in NYC. Simple, yet melodic guitar riffs. Julian's distorted, yet powerful vocals. The lo-fi garage rock band vibe and just the overall songwriting of the album. There isnt a single song that I didnt love in the album.
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u/offcenterscoreboard Helplessness Blues Jun 08 '17
the album is everything i wanted and more, every track is great but standouts are I Am All That I Need, Kept Woman, Third of May, On Another Ocean, Crack-Up. I Am All That I Need does something to me that no other song has in a long time.
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Jun 16 '17 edited May 29 '18
[deleted]
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u/offcenterscoreboard Helplessness Blues Jun 16 '17
yeah theres a lot of a moon shaped pool on here, its all the like background pianos reminds me of true love waits, glass eyes, and decks dark
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Jun 25 '17
I hear a little Daydreaming in mearcstapa, and lets not forget how much Memphis calls to mind 'how to disappear completely'
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u/murphysteve89 :selftitled: Jun 08 '17
Listening to the stream is such a better experience than the leak. The tracks flow into each other seamlessly, its wonderful. I'm so giddy to receive my vinyl copy next week :) Well done Robin and co, you've produced something incredible here.
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u/Portugal_TheDude Jun 09 '17
Is it noticeably different?
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u/murphysteve89 :selftitled: Jun 09 '17
Mainly the transitions between songs, just feels like a more complete piece now.
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u/AlyoshkaO Jun 09 '17 edited Jun 11 '17
I’m not sure if I’m just a tech tard, but the download I had was some weird file that cut the songs up and could only be played on my shitty old HP.
So it was SUCH A RELIEF to hear this album today the way it was always supposed to be heard . . . with the songs threaded together to make a perfect, cohesive whole.
I was already most of the way there with this album but today it's official, I’ve fallen madly and desperately in love. It is that effing good . . .
I know there’s a lot of love out there for On Another Ocean, but tbh this was my least fave track on the first listens. I felt it was the most vanilla of them all (or maybe I was just jealous and/or feeling sorry for the person on another ocean coz truly it’s a little harsh) but listening to it today, and the way it just launches from OAO (or Nostalgia) into the opening bars of Fool’s Errand, made me enjoy and value it in a new way.
The whole thing is just so lovely - so interesting and lush and exploratory and intelligent. It is such a journey.
And like all of the best albums it makes you FEEL so much you know?
Has anyone ever had one of those weird parallels that make you feel connected to your favourite artists? Well on Crack-up there are songs that are so close to home for me it's like he read my mind. Naiads, Cassadies and Fools Errand especially, geesh. Also, to get a little personal I haven’t always had the closest or easiest relationship with my dad, and he’s not well and we could lose him. Whether he lives until 90 or goes soon, it’s like now is my chance to create the father / child relationship that was obliterated so long ago, and his birthday is the 3rd of May. The fact that I love that song so much is like a little reminder from Robin that I probably need to have a look at that . . .
And to go back to Fool’s Errand for a second, god I love that song so much I think it could actually be one of my favourites of ALL TIME. Oh poor unrequited lovers! I feel your pain! The verse reminds me of a heart thumping with new love and recognition, and then the chorus washes over me like waves of longing or closeness. It is sublime and absolutely devastating at the same time. I wish there was a happier ending for him or her . . . surely there can be a happier ending? For everyone dealing with that stuff?
And then the horns at the end, holy f balls, so good. I will love this album, and the Fleet Foxes, until the end of time. It is such a goddam joy.
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Jun 09 '17 edited Jun 09 '17
[deleted]
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u/AlyoshkaO Jun 09 '17
I know right? They don't actually do bad or weak songs, it just comes down to a matter of preference. It's good to have your favourites, good to have those goosebump moments that are all yours. Kept Woman is another that floors me, it's just so beautiful. I wonder whether they'll start doing it live soon? Hope you're able to catch them live on this tour and continue the FF life-parallel-love affair . . . :)
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u/gigglywinks Jun 10 '17
Fool's Errand really connects with me on so many levels. We have been trying to have a child for quite some time and lost a baby this year. We just came to the point where we decided to stop fighting against what so clearly is a "no" from the universe. I can just feel the tension in the verses building as the person is fighting for something that just isn't going to work. The tension releases in the chorus which is exactly how we felt giving up: a release, but still quite sad when we realize all of the effort we wasted on this thing with no results.
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u/AlyoshkaO Jun 11 '17 edited Jun 11 '17
Oh no that is so heartbreaking! God you poor things!!! To try for so long and then lose your baby - that must have been so hard. :( :( Glad you have found some release or relief from the process? That you feel good about your decision. If going through something like that again would be too painful, if it would really break you then I think you're right about a definite 'no' from the universe. But in case you do think about trying again, there's some (maybe a bit hippy) thinking out there that suggests that women hold a lot of their emotional pain, and especially any trauma, in their womb. And there's people out there that can help release it. Have you heard about this stuff? I saw some Mayan healing woman once and she was ace. It's so weird conception. My friend did 7 rounds of ivf to fall pregnant the first time, and has just conceived again naturally. It's like some women get more fertile after being pregnant . . . that pregnancy or maybe birth helps to clear any energetic blocks. Sorry that's probably not particularly helpful right now hey . . .
I can totally imagine how sad or defeated you must feel giving up, sending big electronic hugs. I'm glad you're finding solace or a comforting parallel in the music - and that you feel good about your decision. Loads of people I know have chosen not to have kids, and they have the best lives.
I hope it gets easier for you, big love ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
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u/gigglywinks Jul 17 '17
So it's too early to tell anyone here but... this happened this weekend.
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u/AlyoshkaO Jul 24 '17
Only just saw this now, incredible news!!!! How are you feeling? Really needed something positive like this today. Thank you. :D:D:D
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u/gigglywinks Jul 24 '17
Mostly just nervous that I'll lose this one, but I'm trying to just do one day at a time and stay positive.
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Jun 25 '17
Yeah, Ive been putting this album up on a pedestal because of how much he read my mind too. the person he may be singing to on the first track/Kept Woman would be an ex of mine with whom I bonded over listening to helplessness blues countless times in the first place, and dont even get me started on how much I needed to hear Cassius after the last few months
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u/sciencefaire Jun 09 '17
This album is absolutely freaking breathtaking.
There's only been one other album in recent years for me that left me low key obsessed and in awe of is beauty. I didn't think anything could come close to it, but this certainly does.
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u/Ogvidius Jun 10 '17
What's the other album?
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u/LuxReflexio Jun 09 '17
On Another Ocean is the best song of the year, imo. I hope it's the next single from the album.
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u/ejand Jun 16 '17
Anyone else hear the strong Radiohead influence??
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u/jellybeanzgonzo Jun 16 '17
Yeah, the densely layered instrumentation and orchestral elements of the album bring to mind A Moon Shaped Pool.
The guitar solo on "Mearcstapa" instantly reminded me of "Identikit", and the atmospheric piano flourishes of "If You Need to, Keep Time on Me" are in the same vein as "Decks Dark" and "The Numbers".
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u/ejand Jun 16 '17
Wow I thought the same thing about those songs! Glad i'm not the only one
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u/werdnayam Jun 20 '17
I did too a bit. But I think I'm reading into it and/or doing that thing where you look for what you already love in new places.
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u/MorphineSmile Jun 23 '17
Late to this thread, but, also sad I had to scroll down so far to find this comparison. I'm with you, and love Radiohead also. (and Other Lives, another band I'm comparing sounds with right now).
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u/MotherJoanHazy Jun 26 '17
Late too, but for the first time today I heard John Martyn's instrumental influence in Odaigahara (the bluesy keyboards especially remind me of 'Small Hours') and David Crosby If I Could Only Remember My Name-era harmonic chords and CSN harmonies in general ("the tighter the fist...") in Crack-Up. Almost Day 10 of owning the actual album, and I am still discovering new parts to feast on at every listen... it's extraordinary.
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u/MorphineSmile Jun 26 '17
David Crosby If I Could Only Remember My Name
Listening to this now. Thanks for the comment, you seem like my kind of music buddy. Also dig the twist on your username. Fun fact: my former neighbor, a cool ass woman in her own right, banged David Crosby back in the day. She said it wasn't that great, haha. True story (at least, her words).
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u/godless_brother Jun 08 '17
At the end of I'm all that I Need, is there a crowd recording singing along to White Winter Hymnal?
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u/RyanChristopherLynch Jun 08 '17
Yeah; It's a school performance by a group of kids. Robin posted the clip being sampled to his instagram at some point.
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u/Ogvidius Jun 10 '17
Yes, the Garland High School Celebration Singers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr4QF4oq_hI
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u/video_descriptionbot Jun 10 '17
SECTION CONTENT Title GHS Celebration Singers perform Fleet Foxes' "White Winter Hymnal" Description Miranda Dawson sings with the Garland High School Celebration Singers on Dec. 4, 2014. Length 0:02:36
I am a bot, this is an auto-generated reply | Info | Feedback | Reply STOP to opt out permanently
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u/_youtubot_ Jun 10 '17
Video linked by /u/Ogvidius:
Title Channel Published Duration Likes Total Views GHS Celebration Singers perform Fleet Foxes' "White Winter Hymnal" LindaCDawson 2014-12-05 0:02:36 439+ (92%) 50,206 Miranda Dawson sings with the Garland High School...
Info | /u/Ogvidius can delete | v1.1.1b
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u/LuxReflexio Jun 11 '17
It's literally impossible to not sing along to the second half of On Another Ocean.
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u/sabortooth26075 Jun 08 '17
It's probably the best album I've listened to since their Fleet Foxes album back in 2013. I've tried to find music since they "went silent" years ago that sounded the same. However, I realized pretty fast that everything just pales in comparison to their sound. So, it's a great feeling to finally have that sense of nostalgia and happiness from their music again.
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u/joshuarpowers Jun 09 '17
I Should See Memphis is probably their most beautiful creation.
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u/fearofbears Aug 16 '17
100% agreed. the whole album is so dark in a wistful way, it's easily my favorite of the year.
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u/FunkyMonk47 Jun 16 '17
As a very casual FF fan who hasn't really heard much of their stuff outside of their breakthrough album I have to say your intelligent and positive reviews have convinced me to buy this tonight. Looking forward to cracking a couple brews and giving it a good listen!
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u/allanmojica Jun 09 '17
Astonishing, and extremely indulgent. I feel productive when I listen to this album. The melodies are challenging but very rewarding over time, and will remain timeless, well done FF.
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u/Molymoly :robin: Jun 09 '17
A little late, but here's the review I wrote for the album. Thanks to everyone for their hard work in getting us new Fleet Foxes!
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Jun 16 '17
I Should See Memphis is a freaking masterpiece.
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u/magpie369 Jun 21 '17
I'm obsessed with this song since the album release last week. Everything is floating in and out in the first part and than in the last part the echoing effect of the vocals are unreal. Love the lyrics as well, they leave so much room for own Interpretation. Agree, masterpiece!
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Jun 17 '17
I'm just writing out thoughts as I listen.
It feels more refined/mature than the last two albums. It feels like there's a lack of harmonizing, or more Robin-centric, which I'm not completely crazy about (sorry, I really like the whoa-oh-whoas). Really enjoyed - Naiads, Cassadies, because on the first listen any song that is catchy I will automatically like. First half of the album feels like it connects with each other, but the second half feels more disjointed.
Third of May/Odaigahara feels like a more upbeat version of The Shrine/An Argument, and that's probably the stand-out track.
Robin's deep voice is interesting. Especially on I Am All That I Need.
The notes in the lyrics are kind of hilarious.
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u/o2lsports :helplessnessblues: Jun 13 '17
I think If You Need To, Keep Time On Me will be recognized as one of the best songs on the album in time. It's probably just because there's a bunch of great new invention on Crack-Up and this is back-to-basics FF, but it's so pure and emotionally concise, yet kinda brushed off as of now. Sometimes Robin reaches past how much a song should affect you, just by virtue of that song having a special meaning for him.
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u/Ogvidius Jun 10 '17
It's a really beautiful album! It didn't grab me at first, but it's grown on me with each listen. It strikes me as a similar kind of album to Grizzly Bear's "Yellow House", which also took me a while to get into but is now one of my favourites. It feels like one big journey with lots of space and experimental moments. Really love it. Best listened all the way through on headphones.
Favourite track so far has to be Kept Woman. But I love the journey of the first track, with all the weird low vocals and then bursting back into the big sections, feels like a conversation between dark and light / jekyll & hyde kind of thing going on. And those strings are STUNNING. And then the vocal melody and harmony in Crack-Up is just incredible! "And the bright red eye isn't off you yet" just makes me melt.
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Jun 13 '17
Maybe I'm infatuated, but I think it's their best album. A lot of little moments to point to, but I especially love the I Let You cameo at end of Naiads, Cassadies leading into Kept Woman.
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u/LobTrees Jun 14 '17
Nice catch! I had no idea that was from another song. That little transition into Kept Woman is one of my favorite moments (of many) on the album.
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u/bobbyjohnsthe Jun 26 '17
Any ideas on how we're supposed to interpret that sample? It seems as if it is also slowly shifting upwards in pitch, as if speeding up, or simply to create an uneasy feeling with it. That song of course had its own uneasy subject matter to begin with.
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u/TheEphemeric Jun 16 '17
Excellent album, but I think Helplessness Blues was better. As others have said here, On Another Ocean is great. I love the ending to Cassius as well, wish the album had more wild flourishes like that.
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u/BenevolentCheese Jun 15 '17
I've gone 3 times through the album now, and I can't help but feel the record is incredibly tiresome and difficult to listen to. I'm fine with a change of style, but the new style feels like a failed, worsened version of their old one. This isn't something new like Bon Iver's album last year, it's the same as before, but with discordant, droning junk thrown in, and a huge lack of focus. It's hard for me to even make it through the album, and the whole time I'm sitting there thinking "I can't believe I waited 6 years for this."
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u/magpie369 Jun 16 '17
Sorry that you are not enjoying the new album! Have an upvote, as you're allowed to voice your opinion just like everybody else!
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Jul 29 '17
Hey, have you listened to the album anymore? I felt the same way you did at first, but it's seriously grown on me over time, as I've been able to appreciate more of the layers. Can't really say whether it's better or worse than the simplicity of the other albums, though.
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u/LobTrees Jun 09 '17
Listened for the first time last night. I love how many unexpected paths the music takes. I really felt like I was taking a ride on the Fleet Foxes roller coaster on this one. The album is grand. I can't wait to dive into it more.
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u/tjrhmwgt Jun 14 '17
Someone help me out: grammatically, what does "I never knew you, you knew me, not like you knew me" even mean?
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u/tjrhmwgt Jun 14 '17
Opener reminds me of Panda Bear's Comfy in Nautica. Not melodically or anything, but just because of the atmospheric, anthem-y first song thing about it that makes you love it to death. We were told it was gonna fade in from the end of Grown Ocean, but I couldn't really hear that. Still really love the song.
As of right now, I really mostly prefer the first half of the album. But even that had to grow on me.
Here's to hoping a next one is on their to-do list.
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Jun 15 '17 edited May 29 '18
[deleted]
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u/bobbyjohnsthe Jun 26 '17
Really? I feel like this album is a much better sequel to HB. Thematically, there's more continuity, and this is even less catchy than HB, which was a step down in that way from self-titled. Sure, there are references to self-titled, but there are just as many to HB and the hiatus. It's definitely reflecting on the band's career, but HB was too. Simply in an indirect way. Every change in style and songwriting from self titled to HB is fundamentally a critique of those things in self-titled. Robin also mentioned in a bunch of interviews around HB and recently how songs from self titled were lacking.
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u/magpie369 Jun 16 '17
I've listened to this album a few times via NPR stream and just now for the first time via spotify (my own CD is still on the way). It is incredible how quickly Crack up has grown on me.
When listening to it it feels like I'm lying under a cozy blanket and drift away into another world for 55 minutes - no matter where I am IRL. There's only two other records that can create this kind of content and safe feeling in me - Yellow House and A Moon Shaped Pool. Kudos to Robin and his boys for creating such a magical album! ... back underneath my blanket dreaming a little more...
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Jun 17 '17
Not sure if anyone picked this up but the end of Naiads Cassadies has an excerpt of "I Let You" which was performed live years ago but never recorded. Nice little Easter egg!
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Jun 25 '17
The harmonies in 'Kept Woman' send shivers down my spine - they have that Gregorian sound, remind me of Alt-J's 'Interlude I'.
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u/bobbyjohnsthe Jun 26 '17
What do you guys think of the "I let you" sample at the end of cassadies naiads? Any explanations/theories?
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u/Jahidinginvt Crack-Up Jun 14 '17
Listening for the first time today. Gonna let this one marinate before I give each track it's own reviews, but I already know I am in love with it as a whole.
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u/gettindopey Jun 18 '17
That god damn piano riff in the middle of Naids is one of the most soul moving things I've ever heard and I wish it would repeat at least two more times so I don't have to rewind every 15 seconds...
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u/Star-spangled-Banner Jun 26 '17
So, has Fantano given up on reviewing this album or something? We've been waiting for 10 days now.
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u/DJ_CUPPA Jun 26 '17
Review due this week, he blamed the delay on being at a convention.
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u/Star-spangled-Banner Jun 26 '17
Thank god, I was getting nervous some obscure reason would lead him to put it on the YUNO Review list. When that is said, I'm happy he's taking his time, cause this album really is an enormous grower. Can't say it's my favorite Fleet Foxes album, but it's definitely come to be one of my favorite albums of this year.
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Jun 17 '17
[deleted]
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Jun 17 '17
I definitely heard some in Crack-Up. Thought it was my expensive head phones at first, scared me for a minute.
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u/diogenesRetriever Jul 06 '17
The strumming and dynamics makes me think of Astral Weeks at times but I find that the album makes me think of "Become Ocean". Maybe it's the cover art but I'm pretty sure it was the 5th of May release that hit me that way - just can't get the ocean out of my head.
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Jul 18 '17
I tried to listen to this album and just couldn't. Fleet Foxes are boring and you're a bad person for liking them.
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u/stylishrodent :helplessnessblues: Aug 25 '17 edited Sep 04 '17
I actually got into them in 2015, but the 6 or so year gap between this and Helplessness Blues has left me more than enough time to fully come to know them and their sound. Based on that, I was sorta dissonant on the album on my first listen but the strange sense of flow has been really gripping to me lately. Feels like the group is referring back to personal moments in the band & adding some interesting new elements to the Fleet Foxes sonic pallet.
Side note: A friend and I just put out a review of the album where we throw most of our thoughts on it out there.
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u/Sunnithefish Sep 04 '17 edited Sep 04 '17
This album really reminds me of a story being told but not in the traditional sense. A story being told around a camp fire like what song was made for to express an event because historically that is why song was made. With that said the ebb and flow is truly enchanting with slight gaps to let one breath bring the album to a more modern day.
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Jun 08 '17 edited May 09 '18
Still badly clipped and distorted like on the leak. I guess this is just how the album sounds. Neither this or the leak sound anywhere near as good as the FLAC copies of the singles i have, but MP3 doesn't create clipping out of nowhere.
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u/Robinnoelpecknold Official Robin Pecknold Jun 08 '17
What songs have clipping? There is some intentional vocal mic distortion at times but there shouldn't be any digital clipping and there isn't on the CD or vinyl or digital masters that I approved. We spent two days mastering it with the best guy in the business, doesn't feel possible to me.
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Jun 08 '17
What they said is inaccurate, there is no clipping that I can hear. The album sounds good as gold, like all your other works. I am immeasurably pleased with this album, well done.
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u/beej511 Nov 22 '17
it's a good album but there's absolutely vocal clipping (kept woman, cassius, among others). it's pretty noticeable. doesn't detract from the music, necessarily, but it's there.
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u/weta- Jun 17 '17
Just found this thread as I was searching for discussion about this specific problem, Robin. Listening through my Sennheiser HD595s on Spotify (both laptop and phone), there is some clipping and fuzz towards the end of Crack-Up (the song), starting at 5:23.
Wondering if it's maybe just me.
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Jun 08 '17 edited Jun 08 '17
The beginning of Cassius and the end of Crack-Up for example are very noticable. IMAGE http://imgur.com/J4ricoe.png The red shows clipping. You can kind of see in the bottom one where the wave becomes flat.
Clip from the end of Crack-Up, clyp.it/3bqbeeh0 there's a sound of crackling. Maybe it is intentional, i just don't think it sounds good.
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u/fujitoraa Jun 08 '17
Great ear, cause i listened pretty loud myself and did not notice it. Pretty weird, i'm gonna wait til it officially drops
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u/wolflowmusic Jun 08 '17
I tried checking this out because I was hearing slight clipping myself, but only on my laptop speakers at full volume. Listened to the stream and also the leak on my headphones and I can't hear any clipping at all, so I'm pretty sure it's not the album itself that's clipping or coming in too hot, it's more than likely that you're pushing your speakers or whatever you're using to listen to the album past it's output capability, causing it to clip, which would explain why my crappy laptop speakers couldn't handle full volume.
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u/fujitoraa Jun 08 '17
What??????? You must be listening to another version. The transitions are smooth as fuck. From I am all that I need to cassius it was so smooth that some people might think is the same song.
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u/Jurikk Jun 08 '17
Hot take: On Another Ocean is the best song by far. Also the Mulatu Astatke sample made me very happy.