November 9, 2022

Fleet Foxes - "A Sky Like I've Never Seen"


Fleet Foxes return with a one-off single from an upcoming Amazon Prime documentary, Wildcat.

I'm not totally sure if Fleet Foxes has officially evolved into a solo project for Robin Pecknold and only regains other members for touring purposes or if this really is a collaborative track, but regardless, the music he's releasing now sounds just as strong and powerful as anything that was on the band's previous records. At the time of the release of their last album Shore, it seemed like Robin was handling all songwriting duties (or at least the pandemic made that the case), but alleged more music with the full band was in the works and would possibly arrive soon. It's been two years since that record, not a long time in the world of Fleet Foxes, and while there's no word on more music, the band did tour and brought the core line-up together on stage to recreate their immaculate tunes in front of a live audience and they sounded as great as ever while doing so. Today, we get a new track from Fleet Foxes, but it doesn't answer the question of who is in on the songwriting and if more is one the way. It also doesn't need to answer the question because on its own, "A Sky Like I've Never Seen" is another shining standout. Stunning vocals, delicate acoustic guitar, elegant arrangements, and full-band rhythms once again elevate this track into a gorgeous composition that easily could've been from the same sessions as the last album and yet stands wonderfully on its own. Everything we've ever heard from Robin (and company) has been a complete gift and just before the half-way mark, as the song takes off, we're again reminded of the majesty that comes with a Fleet Foxes track and the transcendent feeling of hearing something so pure it almost stops time. 

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