As my library of music is still dictated by how much money I have in my pockets and the approval of the wife, my new music collection sporadically grows. Lucky for me, I was able to procure a giftcard to Itunes and download some quality tunes this weekend. I plan on reviewing my other album later on this week (but I will not review the one individual song I picked up...Sam and Dave's HOLD UP, I'M COMING! I don't know how any living being could NOT enjoy that song).

The LP that I did purchase was the Fleet Foxes self-titled debut. Fleet Foxes are a relatively new band on the scene from Seattle, WA. I can say that they have received lots of positive buzz from the likes of multiple indie magazines (but I didn't find this out until AFTER I got the album). I heard one of their songs on college radio last week and it was the perfect summer song (WHITE WINTER HYMNAL, the first single off of the LP).

Fleet Foxes have the best harmonies that I have heard in a band since GUSTER. They are multi-layered and consistently in tune. You never realize how much you appreciate a good harmony until it is so rarely done in modern music. The music is a nice folky/indie/alternative hybrid that is not overpowering but it also will not lull you to sleep.

Initially when I listened to the disc I made immediate comparisons to The Shins. This is probably due to the fact that 1) Fleet Foxes are on the same label (Sub-Pop) and 2) The LP was produced by the same producer that has done The Shins work. However, after 3 or 4 times through the disc, it became clear to me that the Foxes bring something different to the table. I am not going to make some crazy statement and compare their harmonies to Brian Wilson's but you really can hear traces of him in their style. You can definitely tell he is a strong influence in their sound.

That is where yesterday meets today. You pull all of the things you like from the music in the past and fuse those into what you are wanting to do today. That is what the Fleet Foxes sound like to me. A nice hybrid of a few of my favorite things in one nice tidy package. You really can't ask for much more for a great summer recording. I'm sure I will be listening to it much longer than that.

Stand outs: Quiet Houses, The Protector, Blue Ridge Mountains

http://www.myspace.com/fleetfoxes

I've decide to add a new category to music bath which is sure to be not used ever, just like all the others!

This category, featured artists, will be a good place for me to point you in the direction of artists that you really have to hear.

So, it's no secret, I'm a huge fan of sad bastard music. With that in mind, I think that New York's Chris Garneau is the perfect first artist for this new category.

Chris' CD, Music For Tourists, came out this January on Absolutely Kosher and there is no good excuse for not owning it yet.

That opening track, Castle-Time, starts the CD's heart-wrenching mood perfectly with lyrics like "my teacher died/even the frying pan cried/rain fell according to castle-time/I was only nine."

Death shows up again in the track "We Don't Try" which starts "you say you want to die/cause the things don't work out right/but you don't even try/though neither do I" and actually kind of gets way more depressing from there.

Actually, you really won't find too uplifting of a song on this CD. Wallow the whole way through.

It is rare that music actually makes my throat close up and tears well in my eyes, but Chris' music does just that. His beautiful voice is smooth and raspy at the same time, and the low somber piano tracks breaks my heart in just the right way.

Sounds Like: Damien Rice, Joe Purdy, Snow Patrol, Ryan Auffenberg, Jeremy Messersmith (and if you haven't heard them, GO LISTEN NOW!)

Check out his music video for "Relief." Great song, great video, and Chris is a cutie too, huh?