fleet foxes

Fleet Foxes performing in Copenhagen, 2008. Background information Origin Seattle, Washington, U.S. Genre(s) Indie folk

Baroque pop Label(s) Sub Pop (U.S.)

Bella Union (UK) Associated acts Crystal Skulls

Pedro the Lion

Seldom Website www.myspace.com/fleetfoxes Members Robin Pecknold

Skyler Skjelset

J. Tillman

Casey Wescott

Christian Wargo Former members Nick Peterson

Craig Curran

Trevor Alderfer

Bryn Lumsden

Fleet Foxes is a five-piece Seattle-based band signed to the labels Sub Pop and Bella Union.[1] The Fleet Foxes' first release was a self-titled EP in 2006. The band came to prominence in 2008 with the release of a second EP, Sun Giant, and their debut full length album Fleet Foxes. Both Sun Giant and their eponymous debut album received much critical praise and reviewers often noted their use of refined lyrics and vocal harmonies. The quintet describe their music as "baroque harmonic pop jams".[2] Contents [hide] 1 History 1.1 Formation and early years 1.2 Rise to prominence 2 Members 3 Discography 3.1 Albums 3.2 EPs 3.3 Singles 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External links //

History

Formation and early years

Robin Pecknold and Skyler Skjelset both attended Lake Washington High School in Kirkland, a suburb of Seattle, and soon became close friends.[3][4] The confident character of Pecknold stood in contrast with Skjelset's shy demeanor but the two bonded over a mutual appreciation of Bob Dylan and Neil Young and began making music together.[5] Their parents influenced their musical tastes early on — Skjelset's mother was a keen listener of both Bob Dylan and Hank Williams while Pecknold's father was a member of The Fathoms, a local 1960s soul group.[3] The two young Seattleites were ambitious and Pecknold, reflecting on the achievements of Dylan and Brian Wilson, realised the importance of practising music from a young age.[5]

Originally going by the name "Pineapple", a name clash with another local band prompted a change and Pecknold decided upon "Fleet Foxes", suggesting that it was "evocative of some weird English activity like fox hunting".[3] Pecknold took up the role of principal songwriter, both singing and playing guitar, while Skjelset played lead guitar.[4] Pecknold's late-sixties pop style caught the attention of Seattle producer Phil Ek and he helped them record their first demo in 2006, the self-released Fleet Foxes EP.[6] Ek was impressed with the band's songwriting and, upon hearing Pecknold for the first time, was interested in his Zombies-esque music, noting that "it was obvious that he had talent coming out of his ass".[5] By late 2006 the Seattle press began to take notice of the band; Tom Scanlon of the Seattle Times stated that he was impressed with the band's lyrics and musical maturity.[6]

With growing popularity on the local circuit and a wealth of song material,