Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes is an indie folk band from Seattle, United States, active since 2006. The group centres on singer-songwriter Robin Pecknold and is associated with folk, folk rock, indie folk, indie rock, alternative rock and chamber folk.

Line-up

The band’s core recorded and live membership includes Robin Pecknold, Skyler Skjelset, Casey Wescott, Christian Wargo and Morgan Henderson. Earlier members and contributors include Nicholas Peterson, Craig Curran and Josh Tillman. Pecknold sings and plays guitar; Skjelset plays guitar and mandolin and also contributes backing vocals; Wescott plays keyboards and mandolin with backing vocals; Wargo plays bass and guitar with backing vocals; Henderson plays upright bass, guitar, woodwinds, violin, percussion and saxophone. Peterson and Tillman both play drums and backing vocals.

Formation and early releases

Pecknold and Skjelset grow up in Kirkland, near Seattle, where they attend Lake Washington High School and begin making music together after bonding over Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Brian Wilson. The band first uses the name The Pineapples before changing to Fleet Foxes. Pecknold acts as principal songwriter, and the early lineup also includes Wescott, Bryn Lumsden on bass and Peterson on drums. A first demo appears in 2006, followed by a self-released Fleet Foxes EP. Producer Phil Ek helps record the early material, much of which is tracked in apartments, other informal spaces and the basement of Pecknold’s parents’ house.

Breakthrough with Sun Giant and Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes sign to Sub Pop in 2008 after building a large following through online plays and word of mouth. Before their debut album, they release the Sun Giant EP, with Wargo replacing Curran on bass and Tillman later replacing Peterson on drums. The band attracts wider attention through appearances at SXSW and Sasquatch! in 2008. Their self-titled debut album follows on Sub Pop in 2008 and receives strong critical response, with particular attention to its vocal harmonies, lyrics and close musicianship. It reaches No. 1 on the CMJ Radio 200 chart, is named Uncut’s first Music Award winner for 2008, and becomes the first gold-certified record for UK label Bella Union. The album also receives high ratings from Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, The Guardian and Metacritic.

Helplessness Blues

The second album, Helplessness Blues, is recorded from 2010 in several locations, including West Hurley, New York, and features Henderson as part of a six-piece line-up. The album is released on Sub Pop in 2011, with artwork by Toby Liebowitz and Christopher Alderson. Its title track appears first as a free download, and the album later brings a Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album at the 2012 ceremony.

Hiatus and side projects

After touring for Helplessness Blues, Tillman leaves the band in 2012 and later records as Father John Misty. Pecknold spends part of the following period studying at Columbia University’s School of General Studies in New York. The group then pauses activity for several years before returning to work on new material.

Crack-Up and later work

Fleet Foxes return with Crack-Up in 2017, their third studio album and first for Nonesuch Records. The album is described as a concept record and is recorded at Electric Lady Studios and Sear Sound in New York City. It is titled after an essay by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The lead single is “Third of May / Ōdaigahara”. For live shows around this period, Matt Barrick of The Walkmen plays drums, while the release also involves the brass quartet The Westerlies.

Shore and later releases

The band releases Shore in 2020 on Anti-. Between albums, it also issues the live and session EP The Electric Lady Session, based on recordings from WFUV, and later a Record Store Day release pairing a choral version of “Crack Up” with a live version of “In The Morning”.