Skip to main content

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+

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

1 YEAR LATER: "22, A Million" by Bon Iver

   Bon Iver's third studio album turns 1 in about a week (where did that year go?), so I thought it would be interesting to talk a bit about how my impressions of the album have changed - or how they haven't - over the last 12 months. When this album was released I was more excited than I think I ever have been to hear a new album. For Emma, Forever Ago is one of my all time favourites, and I love his self-titled second album too, so I had huge expectations for this album, but was also wary that expectations might ruin my experience of the music. This was particularly the case for 22, A Million , because it is unlike anything else Justin Vernon has released. There have been hints at this more processed, electronic direction previously, like the song "Woods" on the Blood Bank EP and occasional flourishes on Bon Iver , but 22, A Million is a drastic departure from the Bon Iver sound we had grown accustomed to at this point in time. Or at least, that's what I thought...
Post a Comment
Read more

ALBUM REVIEW: "Go Farther In Lightness" by Gang Of Youths

   Where do you go after penning an hour-long tale of a relationship doomed by terminal cancer and subsequent depression, substance abuse and suicide attempts? The fact that Gang of Youths frontman and songwriter David Le'aupepe had anything left to say - let alone an EP and then a double album epic - in the two years since 2015's beautifully tragic The Positions is quite frankly remarkable. For Go Farther In Lightness to be as compelling and emotionally draining as it is, then, is mind-blowing. The musical well was obviously still rich for Gang of Youths, and they have released a sprawling epic that stands up confidently next to The Positions . Symphonic interludes provide a grand backdrop for the decidedly larger sounding album that also manages to slip in some of the most intimate moments in their already sparkling catalogue. It's this feeling of comprehensiveness - that they have covered all bases - that makes Go Farther In Lightness such a rich and immersive experien...
Post a Comment
Read more

ALBUM REVIEW: "A Man Apart" by Ben Ottewell

   Ben Ottewell's third LP A Man Apart goes boldly where he has been before, and while it certainly does that pretty well it doesn't manage to either strike new ground or any real emotional response. There is a distinctly "nice" feel to this record, which is, um, nice I guess if that's what you want. But it just doesn't feel like there's any immediacy or forward motion on any of these songs, like Ottewell is content with writing songs that could be on four wheel drive ads. Again, there isn't really anything particularly bad here, it's just a singer-songwriter album that isn't trying to break new ground. His typically growly voice is also beginning to give way to a more accessible, smooth tone, which could place you on either side of this record. For me it just cements it's place firmly in the middle ground somewhere.    Favourite Songs: Own It, A Man Apart and Lead Me    Least Favourite Songs: Watcher, Back To The World and Bones ...
Post a Comment
Read more