Sun Giant EP [Single]

How can you ignore a five star rave review? I can't, but I am nearly always disappointed. People tend to rave about things which are very particular to them, who knows what sets it off; something very personal usually which doesn't quite click with you. Also, if I had a pound for every glowing music review which mentions Brian Wilson or The Beach Boys I'd be, well, able to finance these deflating musical forays.

But this five track EP from Seattle five piece Fleet Foxes is worth everyone of those five stars (and a little alliteration too). It opens with close-set acapela harmonies which echo as if they're being sung in a church and there is something religious about the melody too. Just voices singing but there is a grandeur to the music as they sing ' What a life I lead when the sun breaks free/As a giant torn from the clouds'. There's accompaniment and a much bigger sound to Drops In The River and English House continues with the guitars and ukelele underpinning more fantastic harmonies. The sun comes out again on the mournful sounding Mykonos, 'And you will go to Mykonos/With a vision of a gentle coast/And a sun to maybe dissipate/Shadows of the mess you made.' Halfway through it changes tack with more choral vocals which reach out to lead the track somewhere else. It's just lead vocallist Robin Pecknold and guitar on the last track Innocent Son and it's a voice with surprising range even on this short selection. There are inevitable comparisons to Crosby, Stills and Nash, The Beach Boys and some more recent alt country outfits but I'll leave it to the band themselves to describe what they do: "We'd call this stuff baroque harmonic pop jams". Well, there you go. An album will follow in June. Can't wait.

"What a life I lead in the summer/ What a life I lead in the spring..." a chorale sings, solemnly echoing from the speakers.

Well, when a band is just starting out, they have to get your attention somehow. And the Fleet Foxes manage that at the start of their debut EP, "Sun Giant" -- a whirl of exquisitely baroque, elusively pretty rock-pop melodies. And most of it sounds like they recorded it inside a cathedral, or some other big echoey space.

It opens with the title track, a solemn harmony of choir-like vocals accompanied only by a plucked mandolin. "What a life I lead when the sun breaks free/as a giant torn from the clouds/what a life indeed when that ancient seed/is a berry watered and plowed," the Fleet Foxes intone, sounding very innocent and awestruck.

Then the tone shifts with the bittersweet "Drops in the River," with its eerie, vaguely medieval flavour ("On the shores, speak to the ocean and the sea"). "English House" drops into a catchy folk-pop number shimmering with woobly synth and nimble countryish riffs. Think a folksier Grizzly Bear, if you must compare it to something.

The rock sound becomes a bit more organic after that, with the smooth, tight pop melody of "Mykonos," but it's still punctuated with jangly guitars and soaring harmonies. And "Innocent Son" rounds the EP off with a subtle, wistful little folk melody that laments, "some twisted thorn tells me you saw me in the night with another..."

This dramatic intro to the Fleet Foxes -- as well as the whole EP -- does exactly what it's supposed to do: lures you in with beautiful music, and stokes excitement for their future music. I had a lot of trouble figuring out anything much to criticize, because the blended styles, instrumentals and lyrics are so polished and heartfelt in their beauty. Eventually, I sort of gave up.

They don't even have a particular style -- instead we get a blend of rock, folk and electronica. Earthy acoustics sit side-by-side with shimmering electric guitars and growly string melodies, and the wibbly electronica meshes seamlessly with the ringing, jangly melodies. Occasionally they throw something extra into the mix, like that mandolin.

Robin Pecknold's high, sweet voice rings through most of the songs, although at times the band opts for a chorus-sound -- think postpubescent choirboys having a reunion. And they already have a knack for lyrics full of beauty, sorrow and evocative language ("Rust suddenly falling beside me on a ghost of a morning/riding in sorrow to the harbor/far behind me, the bodies of my friends...").

The Fleet Foxes spin up a truly lovely, powerful little EP, crammed with emotion, poetry and plenty of vocal depth. "Sun Giant" really does shine.

Okay, so they reek of beard and I'm smelling joss sticks I haven't even lit, so derivative are they of the 70s west coast sound, but by God they do it well. Mykonos in particular I am obsessed with and have already played 9 times today. Perfectly fits the current sunshine and hoped for summer. Best thing about this music is it makes me feel 15 again, when summers were always hot, I had no responsibilities and the world was ripe for exploration. Hummable, soaring melodies, echo-y harmonies and jangly guitars that put a shiver up your spine. getting ready music for when you're going to see all your friends, make some new ones and everyone will be in a good mood. Just wonderful.