Meeting (& Exceeding) the Hype: Fleet Foxes

White Winter Hymnal from Grandchildren on Vimeo.

Nowadays, so many bands are overhyped to the point of unattainable expectations. With blogs and media sites posting music recommendations that they get from one another, a band can be over saturated in the matter of a week or two. This new fishbowl environment makes it so much more gratifying to find a few notable bands that emerge as worthy of all that praise (Grizzly Bear & Arcade Fire to name a few that I'd put in this category, disagree as you see fit). The debut Fleet Foxes album has had all kinds of people heaping praise all over it (that dude over at Stereogum, for one, should probably take it down a notch), but the honest truth is that their album really is that good (and as someone who was lucky enough to see them live twice this year, the music translates great in concert). I mean damn, they even made their myspace page funny.

Folksy but not sleepy and spacey but focused, Fleet Foxes really is one of the best albums of 2008. Video above, Mp3 below. Enjoy.

Mp3: Fleet Foxes - He Doesn't Know Why