Rating

A-

Pros and Cons

Pros
  • Only needs 5 tracks
  • Unlike anything out there currently
Cons
  • Only 5 tracks
  • Overlooked by most

Sun Giant EP (Fleet Foxes)

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Summary

Their second EP, released in 2008, that helped lead to their commercial sucess and preluded their self-titled album

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Description

Before I even listened to this EP, looking at the front cover and what was inside, I knew it would not disappoint. The front cover shows what at first look seems to be of an old castle and primitive people on horses. However, there is something new and fresh about the picture while still retaining it's antique-like charm. In this way, it is similar to the music of the Fleet Foxes.

Before you start listening to the album there is a passage on the inside, a part of it being the following quote: "A very smart and gifted friend of mine told me once that music is a kind of replacement for the natural world that, before civilization or whatever, the world must have seemed a place of such immense wonder and confusion, so terrifying in a way, unthinkably massive and majestic, and that that feeling of mystery and amazement is somehow hardwired into us. Once the world became commonplace, mapped, and conquered, that mystery left our common mind and we needed something to replace it with and, then along came music"

The album begins with the song Sun Giant, a melodic that contains only vocals save for a mandolin towards the end. The vocal harmonies reminiscent of Crosby, Stills, and Nash starts immediately and brings a sense of hope and optimism. As in many of their songs, there is also a very natural feel, as they start of singing descriptively about the sun and lead into the the next track...

Drops in the River which takes you down a metaphoric river into the lands painted by the music of the Fleet Foxes. This is when the full potential of their music is exposed. The soft guitar and reflective lyrics but with the ever present rhythm creates a very calm feeling and set the stage for the next couple of songs.

The next track, English House, is probably the strongest song on the EP and perhaps one of the greatest songs I've ever heard. The song starts off slowly with mandolins and vocals and continually builds into an amalgam of many sounds working together with the lyrics floating atop them. It is a more upbeat song than Drops in the River until about 3:30 when a somewhat unexpected electric guitar comes in.

Mykonos
The song that became a single and had a not too great video done for it, is also a very good song. This one brings about a bit more of a seafaring/port town feel. Once again the vocals and harmonies are amazing, but it also has probably the best lyrics on the EP. It begins with:

"The door slammed loud and rose up a cloud of dust on us
Footsteps follow, down through the hollow sound, torn up.
And you will go to Mykonos
With a vision of a gentle coast
And a sun to maybe dissipate
Shadows of the mess you made."

Also in this song is the change in the mood towards the end of the song as the tempo builds up and up throughout the song then gradually comes down to the end.

Innocent Son is probably the weakest song on the LP however being the last song I can appreciate that it lets you down slowly as opposed to many other CDs I've heard that leave you feeling overly melancholy. However it is very slow and what some might consider sad. It is I think a very good way to end. It is the same relaxation as if a weight has been lifted and it's time to move on to the next booth in the never ending carnival that is life.

In conclusion, basically I'd say this LP is similar to sitting in a wooded field drinking a pina colada with a gentle sea breeze blowing and rusting abandoned train tracks in the distance. That is to say that, it is a strange yet harmonious blend of many things that evokes thoughts that are difficult to describe and can be very calming. However, even I can find it almost boring or plain in the wrong mood or mindset. Yet when in the right mind, it can be something both familiar and different, ancient and refreshing, and all together enjoyable.

If I had to describe this LP with someone elses words:

"Time is Liquid" - Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

If you enjoy this EP you may also like Blitzen Trapper or Iron and Wine.

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