Listening diary 15th April, 2022: Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues (chamber folk, 2011)
I recall when I first got into this album, it was in a rush as I was determined to see them live. A determination led far more by the necessity to be at the concert for personal dramatic reasons (long story) than any serious love of the band, although I was an admirer. I didn't look up much about the band, but I recall the title track from this standing out. I attended the show with my brother, not a music fan by any means, who said it was "actually not that bad". They closed with "Helplessness Blues", a bit to my surprise - I hadn't yet come to the knowledge that it is considered by most to be the band's defining statement and the natural closing track. It was a special moment, and will always stand as one of the most memorable live performances of a song, as it went from being a song that I liked to one that has profound personal meaning to me.
Years later, and I think it has only increased in my estimation, as well as the works of the band as a whole, who now sit comfortably in my top 50 favourite artists. It's got this otherworldly passion and sorrow, somehow feeling ancient and modern all at once - the allusions to the simple life of centuries gone by, where folk music truly was the folk's music. Even without discussing its potent lyricism, which sticks out like a sore thumb in an album of vague metaphors and airy poetry, there's something so personal about the harmonies and the wavering in their voices, and the melody itself would stand alone without any of that. It is one of the few pieces of music where I have to say that the prevailing wisdom is correct - it may be one of the finest of our time.
Oh yeah, and the rest of the album's good, but you knew that.
8.1 (9th listen)
