BELLACD167
Release Date: 3 June 2008
"For all the album's winding paths and unexpected vistas, Fleet Foxes' harmonies remain the primary draw, and they've written and arranged these songs to showcase their shared vocals. "Heard Them Stirring" has no lyrics, but it's hard to call it an instrumental. Against a shuffling shaker-and-tambourine rhythm, "Ragged Wood" switches between Robin Pecknold's lead vocals and the band's harmonies after each verse, effectively translating classic rock via folk elements. There's as much Fleetwood Mac as the Band in the song's rousing finale." - Pitchfork
"Bizarrely, some of these registered as pop-oriented. Here were a bunch of autumnal songs that seemed to suggest a lost world, and yet tracks like “White Winter Hymnal,” “Ragged Wood,” and “He Doesn’t Know Why” had melodies and hooks you couldn’t shake while also being easy to sing along to; the cheesy a cappella group Pentatonix even attempted to turn “White Winter Hymnal” into a Christmas carol. Similarly, Fleet Foxes may have stopped short of crafting anthems, but there was a climactic drama to “Blue Ridge Mountains” that always stuck out, whether as setting up the album’s conclusion or when seeing them tour behind it afterwards." - Stereogum