CD reviews: Fleet Foxes

Six years after the 2011 release of Helplessness Blues and nearly a decade since their excellent 2008 self-titled debut, Fleet Foxes return with an effort that offers no great departure from their signature echo-soaked wall-of-harmonies approach, yet has more than enough compositional oomph to prompt repeated investigation.

All 11 of the songs on Crack-Up were written by Robin Pecknold, who spent a few years away from the band, escaping the tension there.

The result is a sprawling folk-rock effort, its ambition encapsulated by Third of May/Odaigahara, a sprawling nine-minute epic that features piano, 12-string electric guitar, a string quartet and the group's trademark sparkling vocals.

• Fleet Foxes. Crack-Up. Warner.
• ★★★★
• Single download: Cassius
• For those who like: Midlake, Wishbone Ash