Where do they go, graceful in the morning light?

Fleet Foxes is really the only new band I've heard on Left of Center that I wanted to hear again. They immediately reminded me of one of my childhood favorites, Seals and Crofts, juxtaposed with the more gentle sounds of Espers, Will Oldham, and Band of Horses. There seem to be quite a few bands like this in the last few years, that manage to capture really old sounds and aesthetics in a way that doesn't feel dated or excessively faux-vintage (Yeasayer is probably the best example of this, though there are surely others).

Their S/T album primarily deals with nature/mountains/the woods/morning light as representations of human moral conflicts and emotions. "Your Protector" is definitely my favorite song because it conjures the image of a lone classical guitar player strumming quietly in a grove of trees while falling raindrops and rustling leaves serve as percussion, and the sound is carried away by the wind. "White Winter Hymnal" creates a similar mental image, while the echo of overlapping choruses expodes in a really stunning way before it fades . The album collectively recalls the Appalachian folk music tradition, no doubt due to its woodsy aesthetic, though ironic given that the band is from Seattle. If I were to produce a video for any of these songs, it would include lumberjacks and dryads and cute forest animals.

Listen to some songs on their Myspace.