Breathe deeply, folk fans, and enjoy another fresh breath of air making its way into the genre. The recently released debut EP titled “Sun Giant” by the Fleet Foxes is a must-buy for any fan of relaxing beautiful music; the EP is comparable in quality to this year’s “For Emma, Forever Ago” by Bon Iver. Rooted in Seattle, this quintet of folksters has perfected a unique and notable new sound. A medley of folk music, rock and roll and the increasingly popular genre of ambient music, the Fleet Foxes’ EP is a worthy addition to anyone’s music library. The EP does lack cohesion, but instead of being noticeable or detrimental, this makes each song feel new and different from the last. Despite the influence of so many genres, each of the five songs leans more heavily on one part of the band’s large range than the rest. Each song has its own distinct sound, and yet the EP maintains a sense of continuity and fluency. The melodies are somewhat more complex than most of today’s music; just as you think a phrase of the music is about to end, it picks up again and continues to wind and weave, taking the song in a new direction. The album’s opener, “Sun Giant,” begins with one-and-a-half minutes of a capella that it sounds as though lead singer Robin Pecknold is singing in an empty cavern, his own voice echoing and serving sufficiently as a background instrument. Only in the last section of the song does a soft mandolin enter. The next song, “Drops in the River,” shows us the rock and roll side of the Fleet Foxes, with a pulsing guitar rhythm and a quiet drum beat in the background. However, the melodies stay complex and the voice maintains its lingering echoes, creating a sound unlike anything I’ve ever heard. The harmonies in the song are particularly abnormal and may come off as frustrating to some listeners, with ambient buzzing and errant cymbal clashes continuing throughout the song. “English House” is probably the prettiest song off of the EP. The melody, while still coiling and intricate, is slightly easier on the ears than the other songs. In this song, the band clearly toned down the vocal echoes, and it helps to let the sounds of the guitar and mandolin in the background shine through. They intertwine on pleasant but unconventional harmonies, and the balance of volumes makes the voice seem like another instrument as opposed to a leader among background music. This unique equilibrium works particularly well, making “English House” the best song in the Fleet Foxes’s current short repertoire. The next song, “Myokonos,” has the best vocals on the album, though it may not be the best song. In the verses, Pecknold struts his singing ability with noticeable but controlled vibrato, and the chorus consists merely of pitched falsetto chanting. At one point in the song, the guitar, mandolin and drums drop out on a sustained note, and Pecknold sings a capella for about 20 seconds. It’s a powerful and unexpected moment in the song, and it really shows off Pecknold’s virtuosic singing. I highly recommend that you purchase this EP; it is a spectacular musical achievement for a band’s debut project. Additionally, having heard a pre-release of the Fleet Foxes’s self-titled album, which comes out this June, I can assure any fans of Sun Giant that they will not be disappointed.
