When took the stage to close out the first day at Newport, it had been eight years since the band's . In 2009, the band was picking up steam after releasing its critically venerated self-titled debut, "White Winter Hymnal" was still fresh as new snow in our collective consciousness and then-drummer J. Tillman wouldn't become Father John Misty for another three years.
Since then, Fleet Foxes have released a well-regarded second album, Helplessness Blues; gone on hiatus; returned from hiatus; and, this spring, put out the sprawling Crack-Up. Principal songwriter Robin Pecknold, who spent the band's time off backpacking and studying at Columbia University, has said the new album's title is a reference to an F. Scott Fitzgerald essay about his existential crisis 鈥� a natural if slightly delayed follow-up to a record whose title track dealt with twentysomething anxiety and aimlessness.
During Fleet Foxes' Newport set, tracks from Crack-Up (many of which move through multiple chapters as they shift in tempo and meter) interwove elegantly with earlier songs, with the band's distinctive harmonies making for a compelling through-line.
Set List
Credits
Technical Director: Josh Rogosin; Mix Engineer: Beatriz Artola; Tracking Engineers: Steve Remote, Robert Carvell, Kazutaka Noda (Aura-Sonic Ltd.); Producers: Marissa Lorusso, Jenna Li; Photography: Adam Kissick.
Special thanks to TuneIn's . Listen to Newport Folk Radio year-round via TuneIn.com or the TuneIn app.
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