A clue to the central difference between the first album from Seattle’s Fleet Foxes and its follow-up album can be seen in their cover art: the first, an ornate Bruegel painting; the second, a more earthy, sketchy piece by a local artist. This much-anticipated Helplessness Blues surges ahead with the rustic folk sound that the band nailed on their initial recordings, but it has a more personal, down-to-earth sound and takes much inspiration from folk and classic rock from the late ’60s and early ’70s.
Once again, it’s impeccably produced by Phil Ek. The arsenal of instruments has been countrified to include fiddle and lap steel guitar, but the band have wisely chosen to pare things back and they keep the melodies uncomplicated and focused. A reportedly tumultuous road to the recording of the album certainly doesn’t show in the end result, except for an uncertain strain to Robin Pecknold’s vocals and lyrics.
Fans of the band’s past work will again be enraptured, though most songs offer little in the way of surprise. The standouts are the tracks that unexpectedly change tack mid-song, and they manage to do this without the songs sounded like two ideas spliced together. The Plains / Bitter Dancer slowly trots through spooky pastoral-folk territory, but a sudden halt to accommodate some Acapulco harmonies triggers a more uptempo, vital final act. The Shrine / An Argument starts tentatively, then bursts into a wonderfully dark and stormy midsection, and winds things down with a freeform, instrumental stumble into bracken. The title track is particularly evocative, an urgently strummed love song that gently slips into an idyllic alternative-life fantasy.
The lyrics are forever soul-searching, right from Montezuma‘s opening words: “So now I am older than my mother and father when they had their daughter / Now what does that say about me?” This is an album about getting older and tacking stock of expectations and, in the end, it throws up more questions than answers. However, it never gets lost in its helplessness and the band continue their tradition of making music that is warm and full of wonder.
While it doesn’t quite reach the heady heights of Fleet Foxes or Sun Giant, Helplessness Blues is sure to be a staple in many end-of-year ‘best’ lists.
Best Track: Helplessness Blues
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In A Word: Harmonious
Label: Inertia/Sub Pop
