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In the middle of a nostalgic discussion of Freddie Mercury and the sadly absent Great Frontmen of today's rock and roll, Spin.com's Abigail Everdell tosses a mild-to-moderate barb in the Fleet Foxes' direction: "Many talented singers today don't have the presence or style to distinguish themselves as lasting personalities. I'd group most honey-throated folk singers in here (think Fleet Foxes' Robin Pecknold singing for thousands while slouching in a chair)..." Zing! See what she did there? The group's eponymous debut full-length has received almost unanimous accolades in the national press, but this Seattlest has remained unconvinced that the Foxes should be granted top-tier, all-time awesome/exciting status--and it looks like Everdell agrees.
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In Woodinville there's a hole-in-the-wall charcuterie named Bill The Butcher which has the most outl
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Totally agree with you on the Fleet Foxes. I mean, come on--it's nothing but purdy singing, and that gets old fast. They strike me as a band that could exist exclusively to make soundtrack music for the yearly "indie" cross-over hit film (Li'l Ms. Sunshine, Juno, etc.).
It seems a little early to tell one way or the other. I'm not sure why you'd weigh in on a singer as having a "lasting personality" or not after a debut album. I know people have. I just don't get it. FF are a very young band. It reminds me of butterfly collectors seeing a beautiful specimen--and killing it and pinning it to a board.
True, but to be fair, the shelf-life of any band is relatively short. I may be in the minority of pop/rock lovers who can't bring themselves to like the horrible seventh album of a band they fell in love with for the debut record or the great sophomore effort of whatever, but it's true: I can't. Experience has taught me that, with few exceptions, it doesn't take long for the defining characteristics of a band to come out. By the second album at least; any major changes after that will be derided as nothing more than a gimmick. All of which is to say that I doubt very much whether FF and Mr. Pecknold are going to change anything up in the near future to make him an iconic singer, which is what Everdell's writing about. Though I know you like them, MvB.
I am perfectly willing to change my mind. But I haven't heard anything that elevates them beyond Jeremy's "purdy singing" descriptor, and certainly not anything that says "classic all-time greatness" to me; Fleet Foxes will have to pull off a hell of a sophomore album to convince me otherwise.
Oh,and I'd add, it'll be hard for FF to make that leap because the larger the venue, the pitchier their performances become. It's mostly mechanical rather than them, but if pretty multi-part vocal harmonies are your thing and you can't pull them off in a big venue, where ya gonna go?
I gotta say, I'm not sure what we're debating, now. I was responding to the "lasting personality" point, and saying that I'd give 22 years old and a first album a little more room before making a definitive statement. Freddie Mercury was 27 when Queen's first studio album came out.
"Classic all-time greatness" I certainly don't know about, and the size of venues, ditto, though it seems to me that the Kingston Trio and the Beach Boys figured out how to play to okay-sized crowds.
That said, the last few times I've heard Robin sing, his voice has been the worse for wear, and at times he's had to resort to shouting over singing. Probably the smoking isn't helping there. But if he doesn't take better care of his voice, his personality, in whatever state, may still outlast it.
He's 22?!!! That is a surprise to me. Maybe it's the beard and plaid that made me think he's older.
Then it's working!
I believe the average age of the FF is 20ish. Might be 21 by now.
You make a fine point about other harmony-heavy bands. I have to admit, I don't know how you do it. My guess is that either (a) they're young and inexperienced and can't keep the harmony in more challenging situations, or (b) the pitchiness is due to distance. I didn't really notice it much at Neumo's, but I had a friend come back from Sasquatch (where for some reason they played two sets) and said it was painful. But it could have been the distance--that can make a note go flat pretty easily. Maybe someone with more technical sound-system know-how can answer that one.
And for the record, at this point our conversation is much more interesting that talking about what some washed up hipster wrote in Spin. What year is this? 1998? Talk about irrelevant.
Robin Pecknold is Jesus. There. I win.
This blog is kinda bland, not sure you should go there.
You seriously don't have anything better to read/write about? Nobody writes about you or "Abigail" and how your articles are weak and "poorly typed with bad slouching and uncurled fingers" but yet you have time to criticize others jobs and loves and you get paid for it. Last time I checked, Robert Plant and Jagger were ROCK AND ROLL singers, not folk singers? If you didn't like a band or a musician because they messed up, then write about it, but don't claim that singers are lacking the "personality" to make a great band. How fucking stupid. I'm having trouble even writing this, because mostly I just want to hurt your feelings, but mainly I just want to point out that the most harmony people like you will ever achieve is having abigail press the "start" button on the copy machine while you take the donuts to spin.
Um, Alanbear, you might want to re-read the post. Since Katelyn is mostly quoting what Abigail at Spin said about Robin Pecknold and the FF, perhaps you should direct your hate mail to that publication.
i thought abigale and everdall were two different peop,le. maybe they should be.
Seattle let your kids grow. Saying a kid is "just like" someone else is so stunting. That's some amazing talent on display by a 22 year old right up front and his life is changed overnight. I hope Seattle gives its own kids a chance. With some radical humility to give it hope.