Fleet Foxes- White Winter Hymnal (Bella Union)
5/5
By: Holly Barnes
Seattle's Fleet Foxes deal in the kind of crafted sumptuous folk-tinged chamber pop that Midlake perfected with their Trials of Van Occupanther album and My Morning Jacket wish they'd mastered.
New single White Winter Hymnal is an example from their Ragged Wood album that couldn't possibly benefit from any additional touches or removing anything; it's tantalisingly close to perfection.
Singer and guitarist Robin Pecknold leads his band in two and a half minutes of absolutely glorious close harmonies and rockabilly guitars, in what sounds like a traditional song from a nation's collective memory. Its repeated lyrics of scarves round cold throats, and blood turning the "white snow red as strawberries in the summertime" are both ambiguous and vivid, conjuring images that, to my mind at least, link with nineteenth century American literature from the likes of Louisa M. Alcott and Mark Twain.
Indicative of exactly what you get from their marvellous debut album, 'White Winter Hymnal' is both beautiful and captivating.
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