Helplessness Blues: Fleet Foxes Album review
Fleet Foxes released its second album, “Helplessness Blues” in May 2011. Fans of the Seattle folk band who loved their first album will not be disappointed by their follow-up.
While paying homage to its folk hero influences like Simon and Garfunkel, the band also puts its own stamp on the 12-tracks of “Helplessness Blues”. The band’s signatures – the organic feel, the poetic lyrics and delivery – are still intact, though there are more mature sounds, and more exploration musically.
The album’s opening track, “Montezuma,” features the band’s signature harmonies. This, coupled with the song’s old-fashioned lyricism might make some feel the song is formulaic. It is like someone seeking Teaching Assistant Jobs and not expecting much only to be pleasantly surprised. But the end result is pleasing, if not musically avante guard, and delivers what fans of the Fleeting Foxes want.
The second track in the album, “Bedouin Dress,” shows more inventiveness in its composition, bringing a breath of freshness without straying far from its core sound. The mix of familiar and new can especially be seen in the 8-minute track “The Shrine/Argument”, which begins rather conventionally, but then gets a dramatic punch of percussion and inventive vocal elements.
The album’s title track is arguably the best of the album, incorporating the best of the band’s signatures with a more modern sound. It is by far more than a stand out.
The album is a fine second outing, thoughtfully constructed to showcase the best of the band, while also showing they can also delve into new territory with style.
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