Fleet Foxes Bring America the ‘Helpless Blues’ : February 03, 2011

In 2008, Fleet Foxes, the band from Seattle, wowed us with their self-titled, ethereal debut album. On May 3, they will be releasing their second album called “Helples [...]

fleet foxes Biography

The Seattle-based folk group Fleet Foxes is signed with the record labels Bella Union and Sub Pop. Current band members include Skyler Skjelset, Robin Pecknold, Morgan Henderson, Christian Wargo, Casey Westcott and Joshua Tillman. In 2008 the band rose to prominence after releasing “Sun Giant,” their second LP, and “Fleet Foxes,” their debut self-titled album. Both “Fleet Foxes” and “Sun Giant” received much praise from music critics. Reviewers often made note of their refined vocal harmonies and lyrics.

Fleet Foxes got its start when high school friends Skyler Skjelset and Robin Pecknold, who both appreciated Neil Young and Bob Dylan, started playing together. Phil Ek, a Seattle producer, was drawn by their late sixties pop style and in 2006 helped them get their first demo recorded, an EP titled “Fleet Foxes.” The Seattle press by late 2006 started to notice the band.

The band's popularity continued to increase. By late 2007, more than 250,000 song plays occurred at their Myspace page. Fleet hadn't released any recordings yet, but received a lot of word of mouth publicity. In January 2008, they signed with Sub Pop, a subsidiary record label of Warner Music.

Fleet Foxes recorded “Sun Giant,” their second EP, and in February 2008 went on tour with Blitzen Trapper, a fellow Northwest band. They started to attract attention for the very first time from the European press after performing in March 2008 at SXSW festival and in May 2008 at Sasquatch! Festival. In April 2008, Fleet Foxes released “Sun Giant” internationally. The band's brand of folk, pop, rock, and vocal harmonies received positive response from the press. “Fleet Foxes,” their debut full album, was released in June 2008. The set also received critical success.

Billboard's Critic's Choice rated “Fleet Foxes” as album of the year for 2008. The set sold over 210,000 North American copies and 100,000 UK copies. The band's second album, “Helplessness Blues” was released in May 2011.