Each year without fail there is a single new band who emerges at the end of Texas’ SXSW festival as the ‘buzz band.’ Cue all manner of press gushings, radio airplay and hastily arranged tours to coincide with the European festival season. The perfect springboard it seems, but it’s not always a good thing. Take, for example, the band who earned the mantle in 2006, Indianapolis’ Tapes N Tapes. After finally getting a deal as a result of their performances at SXSW the band have been, by their own admissions “strangled” into touring their début record for the last 18 months, “playing the same 15 songs every night.” Couple this with the fact the record hasn’t done as well as was hyped – indeed the type of frenzied attention the band received at SXSW has not nearly been replicated since elsewhere - and only now are they set to release their follow up which is a full 3 years since the band themselves made their début record available on-line for anyone who cared to listen.

So, a poisoned chalice it may be, but this year Fleet Foxes have been afforded the unofficial title of SXSW buzz band. The Seattle five piece’s self titled début album follows the impressive Sun Giant EP which was released earlier this year to widespread praise. Those familiar with said EP will find more of the same here.  Layer upon layer of choral harmonies fill the eleven tracks on offer and musicianship is deliberate but decidedly mellow Americana. There are echoes of My Morning Jacket – less the rock bluster – and Love’s quieter moments, as well as the ragged charm of The Band. Of course there will be the obvious Beach Boys comparison given the heavy reliance on vocal harmonies (four fifths of Fleet Foxes weigh in on this front), but for relevant comparisons look only at the group’s more mature, colder moments from the 70’s. If it’s sun-soaked surf pop melodies you’re after, Fleet Foxes will leave you disappointed.

But take them at face value and there is really nothing here to feel short changed by. Be warned however; early misgivings are only remedied with the virtue of patience. Fleet Foxes’ true craft is hidden deep within the delicate structures present on the album and only with the benefit of repeated listens do the songs cover themselves in glory.

The mantra-like, gospel tones of early album highlight White Winter Hymnal set the benchmark in terms of quality. Sandwiched between two bursts of unaccompanied harmony we get a Rawhide-esque cantering rhythm – without the whip cracking urgency – and a stylishly understated guitar line. It's two and a half minutes of engrossing stuff.  Conversely there are bleak, unusual moments scattered throughout also. The sparse Tiger Mountain Peasant Song ditches the harmonies in favour of a pained solo vocal confessional - "I don't know what I have done, I'm turning myself into a demon," bemoans singer Robin Pecknold. Atmospheric and just a little unnerving.

It feels like a proper album, this. No two tracks sound the same and it's brilliantly sequenced, lending itself completely to being heard in its entirety. Which isn't to say you can't dip in and out as is your want. Of course there are stand outs, but one of the record's great strengths is that the last thing it feels like is a collection of singles.

The pretty He Doesn't Know Why chimes and jangles along gleefully then pauses for breath, before beginning a slow descent to its end point. It's carried home by a wonderful juxtaposition of angelic, soaring harmonies and a resigned lead vocal that repeats the refrain "There's nothing I can doo-oo-ooh/There's nothing I can say", until indeed those glorious harmonies do come to an end.

As the album reveals itself with every listen, the wealth of instrumentation employed demands attention. Flutes, mandolin, Hammond organ, banjo, Spanish guitar, cello and auto harp all grace this gem of a record. Crucially their presence is not without purpose either.

It appears Fleet Foxes' much hyped status is more than justified on this evidence. It mightn't be the sort of record to sell by the bucket load, or be heard blaring out of a Volvo in, say, Romford. But this is a hugely important record in its field and with its release Fleet Foxes have set down a marker that their peers can only hope to surpass.

Release date: 09/06/08
Artist website: www.myspace.com/fleetfoxes
Label: Bella Union

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