Sly Fox

Three years ago, a little known band from Seattle slowly took the indie music scene by storm with the release of their critically acclaimed self-titled debut album, Fleet Foxes.  This year, Robin Pecknold, Skyler Skelset, Joshua Tillman, Casey Wescott, Christian Wargo and Morgan Anderson return to give anxiously awaiting fans their second album, Helplessness Blues, proving to be well worth the long anticipated wait.

Helplessness Blues picks up where Fleet Foxes left off on their previous album, continuing the flow of ever so perfectly crafted folk-meets-old-world music. It kicks off with opener, “Montezuma” which perfectly links the two albums with it’s hauntingly alluring vocals and layering of harmonies with the simple strums of a guitar behind it adding to the already bruised lyrics “I wonder if I’ll see/Any faces above me/Or just cracks in the ceiling.”  “Bedoudin Dress” shifts into a more positive surrounding, bring in more embellished tracks and adding in a layering of up-tempo beats that overflow with optimism, which continues further on “Lorelai”  the magical blending of a sunny disposition with  mystical instrumentals.

Pecknold and his band mates have paved their unpretentious way onto the indie music scene and have made fans of even the biggest critics. Helplessness Blues is another shining example of the bands musical expansion displaying both creativity as one would hope on a follow up album, yet sticking to the roots of who they are- and for that all fans can be grateful.