I’m gonna begin this article with a hefty preface. Every person that I have sat down to listen to the Fleet Foxes new self-titled LP has gone on to listen to it obsessively for weeks. Their new record is one of the best I have heard in years. Every house I go to, someone is listening to it. They have managed to straddle old and new in a manner that nobody in recent memory has been able to pull off.

Sonically, they recall the classiest of classic rock: CSNY with an emphasis on Neil Young and The Beach Boys coupled with a current ear for structure, atmosphere and aesthetic. Lead Robin Pecknold has stated before in interviews that he prefers to write songs with a pop aesthetic that aren’t driven by the same, boring old verse-chorus structure. That’s what is so great about Fleet Foxes, the songs actually progress, which allows them to blossom while maintaining their catchy nature.

The Seattle natives are currently on their first major US tour and the interest is high. I couldn’t even get a ticket to their two night stay in Los Angeles. The hype, for once, is justified. The album is one of those that just gets stronger and stronger as you listen to it. The melodies, harmonies, structure, and atmosphere are all spot on. They’re not doing something terribly groundbreaking, they’re just calling upon the classics, wrapping them with more modern production and aesthetic, and taking them one step beyond convention. That’s the kicker. A lot of moments on their album harken to other bands, but never does it sound contrived or rehashed. The lush harmonies layered over the emotive guitar melodies create an album that listeners really connect with.

Fleet Foxes are opening for Wilco in the near future, so I expect that they will begin to garner more mainstream attention. They are a band that manages to be accessible but progressive at the same time, which in my opinion, is a marker of true class. Also, they sport a classy array of facial hair.