In 2008 Seattle's Fleet Foxes seemed to come out of nowhere to produce what was, for many, the album of the year. The beauty of their eponymous debut is that it could have been the album of any year. It has that timeless quality, drawing on music from many places and periods, including the pre-rock era. Allusions to medieval ballads have even been made in reviews, a feeling enhanced by the imagery of "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song".

The astonishingly accomplished five-piece, led by the 21-year-old Robin Pecknold, have labelled what they do "baroque harmonic pop jams", a neat way of encapsulating their vocal-led creations that, although they feature a complex mesh of voices, have the instant allure of the most commercial chart hits. Another title, "White Winter Hymnal", perfectly captures the magic Fleet Foxes weave here, with its sense of quasi-religious devotionals being sung atop a bright, snowy Crystal Mountain, while "He Doesn't Know Why" dovetails the two versions of California suggested by much of Fleet Foxes' music: the doo-wop and barbershop-influenced pop of the Beach Boys and the harmonically rich folk-rock of Crosby Stills Nash & Young.

2020 Gatefold re-issue with bonus 12", EP

Tracklist:

A1 Sun It Rises
A2 White Winter Hymnal
A3 Ragged Wood
A4 Tiger Mountain Peasant Song
A5 Quiet Houses
A6 He Doesn't Know Why
B1 Heard Them Stirring
B2 Your Protector
B3 Meadowlarks
B4 Blue Ridge Mountains
B5 Oliver James Sun Giant

EP
C1 Sun Giant
C2 Drops In The River
C3 English House
D1 Mykonos
D2 Innocent Son