A Review of Fleet Foxes’ Shore

In Shore, Robin Pecknold’s folk rock band Fleet Foxes draw on a variety of musical inspirations to deliver one of their deepest, sonically rich albums to date. Similar to their 2017 release Crack-Up, Shore marks a departure from the band’s familiar aesthetic, trading their rustic folk sound for an intoxicating atmosphere full of bittersweet hope. 

Almost every track on the album has a uniquely haunting sound. It gives the effect of sitting with the music in an empty room, listening to the sound resound off the walls, every guitar strum and vocal harmony rippling out into the void like drops of water in the ocean. 

Already melodic tracks like “Featherweight,” “Cradling Mother, Cradling Woman,” and “Quiet Air/Giola” are elevated by lush vocal harmonies reminiscent of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys Fleet Foxes directly acknowledges Brian Wilson’s influence in an obscure vocal sample at the beginning of “Cradling Mother, Cradling Woman” from a demo tape of the Beach Boys song “Don’t Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder.)” However, Wilson isn’t the only artist to have influenced Fleet Foxes on Shore. 

The vocal harmonies and resonant atmosphere present throughout the entire album takes cues from classic Simon and Garfunkel songs like “The Sound Of Silence” and “Scarborough Fair.” The steady piano and staccato rhythm of the trumpets on “Cradling Mother, Cradling Woman” are reminiscent of Sufjan Stevens’ acclaimed 2005 album Illinois. 

Lyrically, all 15 tracks on Shore share common themes of tentative hope in the face of despair, memory, death and rebirth. For an album grappling with such heavy themes, Shore has a remarkably hopeful and bright tone, albeit consistently tinged with bittersweet reflection and desperate yearning for days gone by. “Sunblind,” the second song on the album, is a tribute to musicians who Pecknold admired like Elliot Smith and John Prine, all of whom are dead, many at a young age:

             “For Richard Swift

              For John and Bill

              For every gift lifted far before its will

              Judee and Smith

              For Berman too

             I’ve met the myth hanging heavy over you.”

The track “Quiet Air/Giola” explores the undoubtedly relatable existential fear of an unknown menace, whether it be climate change, COVID-19, or death itself, and masterfully gives a voice to the desire inherent in all of us that whatever it is will leave us alone. The finale of “Quiet Air/Giola” quickly devolves into a desperate, pleading duet of “Oh devil walk by (I never want to die)” repeated over and over again until the song finally ends. 

The strikingly bittersweet track “Featherweight” is an introspective reflection on privilege, past mistakes and forgiveness. These lyrics from “Featherweight” are most representative of these themes: 

In essence, Shore is a uniquely pragmatic antidote for the existential dread that has dominated 2020. Rather than providing simple escapism, Shore chooses to grapple with these issues head on, never trivializing their severity but defiantly refusing to surrender to despair. Instead, Shore offers tentative hope that tomorrow will be better than today. 

Shore is available to listen on music streaming services. Physical editions will be released on Feb. 5, 2021.