Hands down the best album of 2008. Hands way down. It's an album with a unique mood and timbre that makes my living room smell like the woods when I listen to it on vinyl. The folky guitar lines and full, high male harmonies make me want to put on flannel and eat spinach at the same time. If you have not yet listened to the Fleet Foxes on a proper vinyl record, please consider this your invitation to join me on a foggy day at Chalet de Brie (this is the name of my house). Something about this record sounds simultaneously old-fashioned and like nothing I've ever heard before. And I swear the crackles of dust enhance the entire experience.I must admit, this listmas thing has become more of a challenge than I ever expected. And although I am fully enjoying the listening and writing that is the process of blogging, I know that I cannot do the Fleet Foxes justice. Also, as contradictory as this sounds, though Fleet Foxes are best heard on vinyl, they are also best listened to in a moving vehicle. Yes, I do know turntables are rather stationary, and that this makes no sense, but just go with me for a second. If you can't give all your attention to the album, in a setting that would ideally include blankets, hot beverages, and a well-stoked fire, one must have the album be the soundtrack to beautiful British Columbia, in all of it's big green splendor passing by your window. Seriously, you should try both sometime.
What I am trying to say here, is that I am not going to blog this album song by song, but instead make these two suggestions: play it on your way home from somewhere in daylight (at least a 40 minute drive), or come over. I promise one day I will blog about this album in a more in-depth way - hopefully from the point of view of a road-trip passenger - but until then, it must make a brief appearance to accept the honor of receiving my personal award of the fifth best album released between 2000 and 2009.
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