Music Review: Fleet Foxes, “Crack-Up”

Music Review: Fleet Foxes, “Crack-Up”

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The last time Fleet Foxes released new music, it was 2011 and “planking” was a thing. Since then, a lot has changed: the US has gone through not one, but two divisive Presidential elections; the band’s drummer, Josh Tillman, left to start a snarky, yet successful solo career as “Father John Misty;” and it’s lead singer, Robin Pecknold, moved to New York City to complete an undergraduate degree at Columbia University. Fans have been anticipating new music since 2013, when the group uploaded a teaser pic on their Facebook page, which has since been deleted. It’s almost hard to believe that we’ve been waiting six years for a third Fleet Foxes album – almost. As quickly as their music blew up across college campuses (and even more vigorously in Europe) they were gone – like footprints covered by snow. Winter has thawed to reveal “Crack-Up,” an astonishing work of art: complex, subtle, devastating, introspective, and celebratory all at once. The sound is fresh, yet distinctly Fleet Foxes – mixing folk with New Age and Eastern influences. “Crack-Up” requires just as much patience to listen to as it – undoubtedly – needed to create. But once you wade in, the music breaks over you like a wave, and you’re swept into a new, but familiar space. The album plays host to many memorable moments, including the 9-minute “Third of May / Odaigahara,” which takes a sudden, sorrowful turn roughly 3 minutes in; “Kept Woman,” and “Fool’s Errand,” just to name a few. “Crack-Up” is a classic in the making, and a welcome addition to Fleet Foxes’ small, yet stunning oeuvre. Fleet Foxes is now on tour! Check out their tour schedule here: http://fleetfoxes.co/tour

Music Review: Animal Collective, “Meeting of the Waters, EP”

Music Review: Animal Collective, “Meeting of the Waters, EP”

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Animal Collective, the experimental pop group who’ve become mainstays in summer music festival lineups over the years, has released a new 4-track EP, “Meeting of the Waters.” Recorded on the banks of the Amazon River as part of “Earth Works,” a Viceland documentary series exploring the impacts of deforestation, the EP is immersed in the natural melody of the Amazon Rainforest. Not to overwhelm the background, Avey Tare and Geologist take a step back – strumming soft and singing as if not to disturb any sleeping creatures concealed, just out-of-sight, by the dense rainforest. The 13-minute opener, “Blue Noses,” is the best example of the artists working with the noises of the Rainforest as found material, while the most upbeat track on the EP, “Man Of Oil,” features in the background excerpts of a woman speaking in a soft, indistinguishable language. The melding of the environment and raw instrumentation gives the EP an overall improvisational feel, as if you and your fellow weary travelers have set up camp for the night, and sing around the fire until daybreak.

Music Review: The New Pornographers, “Whiteout Conditions”

Music Review: The New Pornographers, “Whiteout Conditions”

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Canadian indie rock band, The New Pornographers, recently released their seventh studio album, “Whiteout Conditions.” Featuring powerful harmonies and bubbling synths that playfully mask lyrics of depression, “Whiteout Conditions” is a perfect sonic homage to the 80’s, with a twist of overwhelming, Twenty-First Century-fueled anxiety. Standouts include the album’s title track, an especially upbeat tune where Carl Newman recounts a particularly oppressive spell of depression that threw him for a loop, and “We’ve Been Here Before,” about a newly reunited couple falling into the same traps of their previously failed relationship, sung in eerie harmony.

Music Review, Neil Young, “Peace Trail”

Music Review, Neil Young, “Peace Trail”

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Neil Young is back with Peace Trail, a 10-track album that addresses our current political environment, with songs devoted to issues like the Flint water crisis, and the circulation of fake news on the Internet. This mainly stripped down album opens with the title track, “Peace Trail,” about the systematic mistreatment of Native Americans, and closes with “My New Robot,” an autotuned song about finding love, comfort and companionship in Amazon’s Alexa, voice-activated speaker. Featured Music Friday is brought to you by Blackfire Research.