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ALBUM REVIEW: "Crack-Up" by Fleet Foxes

   Fleet Foxes' third album manages to sound just as grandiose and expansive as their previous work even when it is more concerned with looking inwards than outwards and upwards, and will be a very strong contender for my album of the year. The gorgeous vocal harmonies are still very much present throughout the album, as are the swelling walls of sound - kind of like a warmer sounding, folkier Sigur Rós. What separates this album from the rest of their back catalogue, and in my opinion stands it slightly above their previous work, is the willingness to looks inwards both musically and lyrically. Crack-Up is by far the band's most intimate record, which is no mean feat, but they manage the balancing act of hushed whispers (literally, on the beautiful opening track) and cathedral sized folk jams. There wasn't a moment I wasn't complete drawn in on first listen, which I suspect is partly due to the band's knack for winding and unpredictable but still accessible songwriting which is out in full force on Crack-Up. Lyrically Crack-Up is instantly distinguishable from the rest of the band's discography, too. Lyrically the album is pretty impenetrable, certainly the most cryptic collection of songs so far, but there is just enough sense to be made of the lyrics that it feels curiously ambiguous, as opposed to undecipherable and too "artsy" for its own good. The lyric sheet reads like screenplay, with "cut-too"s and action lines all over the place. It's detail like this that will go completely unnoticed by many and dismissed as pretentious by just as many, but it's effort and thought like this that make for an intensely personal, exciting and emotional listen. Repeat listens will certainly be rewarded and have been so far, as you attempt to piece together the narrative in full and arrive at your own different conclusion each time. There's instrumental experimentation to be had here too, with Gnawa music, kroutrock synthesisers, Middle Eastern string melodies and Appalachian stomp-and-clap rhythms all finding a place somewhere on the 55 minute run time. The lack of any real stand out single-worthy songs like White Winter Hymnal or Helplessness Blues is in line with the more subtle, intimate direction of the album, and means that the record feels incredibly fluid and cohesive. Crack-Up is fantastic and a pretty remarkable come-back album of sorts for Fleet Foxes, and I loved every minute of it.

   Favourite Songs: I Am All That I Need / Arroyo Seco / Thumbprint Scar, Kept Woman, If You Need To, Keep Time On Me, On Another Ocean and I Should See Memphis

    Least Favourite Song: Naiads, Cassadies if I had to pick one.

   Rating: A+

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