VIMTV Album Review #332: Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

Jake: 100/100

Tom: 84/100

Verdict:  Recommended if you like folk music with a lot of emotion. You will probably need to have quite a bit of patience and an appreciation for slow builds in order to get into this one.

Overview: Fleet Foxes has taken all the hardship of the years since their debut release and packed it into an extremely impressive sophomore effort. As the title implies, Helplessness Blues is a moving album filled with themes of heartbreak, existentialism, and loss, all with music to match the mood. It may take some time to truly get sucked into this album, but if you tend to enjoy folk music and give this album a chance, it will be an experience you won’t be able to stop coming back to.

Jake’s Track Picks: 

• 2. Bedouin Dress
• 4. Battery Kinzie
• 5. The Plains/Bitter Dancer
• 6. Helplessness Blues
• 10. The Shrine/An Argument
• 11. Blue Spotted Tail

Tom’s Track Picks: 

• 1. Montezuma
• 6. Helplessness Blues
• 8. Lorelai

VIMTV Research Links:

• Fleet Foxes Official Website
• Wikipedia – Fleet Foxes
• Fleet Foxes Myspace
• Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues worship at Metacritic
• Lyrics – Fleet Foxes

Stream Helplessness Blues:

Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues by subpop