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Helplessness Blues

Fleet Foxes
1 disc

1. Montezuma
2. Bedouin Dress
3. Sim Sala Bim
4. Battery Kinzie
5. Plains/Bitter Dancer, The
6. Helplessness Blues
7. Cascades, The
8. Lorelei
9. Someone You'd Admire
10. Shrine/An Argument, The
11. Blue Spotted Tail
12. Grown Ocean
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Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 888
Credits

Producer Fleet Foxes; Phil Ek
Engineer Phil Ek
Personnel: Robin Pecknold (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, hammer dulcimer, harp, mandolin, fiddle, piano, harmonium, Moog synthesizer); Christian Wargo (vocals, bass guitar); Josh Tillman (vocals, drums, percussion); Skyler Skjelset (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, harp, mandolin); Morgan Henderson (woodwinds, upright bass); Casey Wescott (piano, harpsichord, harmonium, pump organ, Mellotron, Moog synthesizer, music box).
Audio Mixer: Phil Ek.
Recording information: Avast Recording, Seattle, WA (01/2010-12/2010); Bear Creek Studios, Woodinville, WA (01/2010-12/2010); Dreamland Studios, West Hurley, NY (01/2010-12/2010); Fort Warden Water Cistern, Port Townsend, WA (01/2010-12/2010); Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA (01/2010-12/2010); Avast Recording, Seattle, WA (04/2010); Bear Creek Studios, Woodinville, WA (04/2010); Dreamland Studios, West Hurley, NY (04/2010); Fort Warden Water Cistern, Port Townsend, WA (04/2010); Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA (04/2010); Avast Recording, Seattle, WA (07/2010); Bear Creek Studios, Woodinville, WA (07/2010); Dreamland Studios, West Hurley, NY (07/2010); Fort Warden Water Cistern, Port Townsend, WA (07/2010); Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA (07/2010); Avast Recording, Seattle, WA (2010); Bear Creek Studios, Woodinville, WA (2010); Dreamland Studios, West Hurley, NY (2010); Fort Warden Water Cistern, Port Townsend, WA (2010); Reciprocal Recording, Seattle, WA (2010).
Photographer: Sean Pecknold.
Arrangers: Fleet Foxes; Casey Wescott.
Helplessness Blues is the anticipated follow-up to Fleet Foxes' 2008 debut. Recorded and co-produced by fellow Seattleite Phil Ek, it expands the band's baroque folk songs by focusing heavily on rhythm and groove, although Fleet Foxes' signature harmonies are also on full display.
Critic Reviews

Rolling Stone (p.66) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "With its gleaming acoustic guitars, acid-folk brush strokes and warming choral harmonies, HELPLESSNESS BLUES is vocalist-songwriter Robin Pecknold's dazzling evocation of early-Seventies rock Eden..."
Spin (p.68) - "Musically, the hooks are softer, the arrangements more ambitious, and 1960s British psychedelic folk a far more palpable influence than the Americana that fueled the band's 2008 debut."
Entertainment Weekly (p.74) - "On their second disc of intimate, obsessively crafted folk, the bearded Seattleites take a giant step forward in their quest to turn the clock backward."
CMJ - "In between the soul-searching, Fleet Foxes cranks out some pretty great singalong songs."
Down Beat (p.54) - 4.5 stars out of 5 -- "Bandleader Robin Pecknold displays welcome growth as a songsmith, writing more personally and, at the same time, more universally than on the Foxes' self-titled debut."
Billboard (p.32) - "[I]t might be the year's airiest outing so far, with a natural melodic grace that recalls prime-era Simon & Garfunkel."
Clash (magazine) - "The dreamlike beginning of 'Montezuma', with its tender, subdued melody and singer Robin Pecknold's delicate vocals, is a gentle reintroduction into the world of Fleet Foxes and their ethereal, endless summer vibes."