Peer Validated

Pictured: Pictures of Fleet Foxes are difficult to come by, with the whole soul stealing thing and all.

At this point I’m about ready to fill my closet with tie-dyed cotton t-shirts and too-short jean shorts, stuff my dresser full of multi-colored bandannas and collect necklaces made of hemp and sea shells. Does anyone know how to accelerate hair growth? I’ll need 2 or 3 feet of shaggy golden locks.

All these early 70’s psych-rock bands are proving the righteousness of the free-spirited baby boomers all over again. I feel like maybe we’ve been missing something, maybe our generation doesn’t have the insight or genuineness necessary to make music or art like this. Midlake did a little bit of it with “The Trials of Van Occupanther,” and Panda Bear picked it up with “Person Pitch.” Now Seattle’s Fleet Foxes are capturing the same sort of kind-hearted, throwback feel in their albums, pulling influences from childhood vinyl collections probably full of Simon & Garfunkel and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Robin Pecknold’s vocals swim in harmonies while seemingly unstructured pop songs intricately flow throughout the band’s two EPs, one simply titled EP, the newest called the Sun Giant EP. The pair of releases act as a preview for an upcoming full length in the spring called Ragged Wooden Ship.

For now I’ll jam Fleet Foxes out on my iPod, but when the day comes that we flood the streets with nylon string guitars and tambourines, I’m totally going to be ready to march and sing out loud.

Fleet Foxes - Drops In The River

Drops in the River takes a bit of time to warm up, but I promise it’ll be the best thing you hear all day long.

Fleet Foxes - In The Hot Hot Rays

Otherwise, In the Hot Hot Rays is from the first EP, and it requires much less patience.