Sun Giant

Last updated

Sun Giant
Sun+giant.jpg
EP by
ReleasedApril 8, 2008
RecordedJanuary 2008
Studio
Genre Indie folk
Length18:50
Label
Producer Phil Ek
Fleet Foxes chronology
The Fleet Foxes
(2006)
Sun Giant
(2008)
Fleet Foxes
(2008)
Singles from Sun Giant
  1. "Mykonos"
    Released: January 27, 2009

Sun Giant is the second EP by American band Fleet Foxes, released on April 8, 2008, by Sub Pop and Bella Union. While the EP was released prior to their debut album, Fleet Foxes , Sun Giant was recorded after the LP. Sun Giant was originally intended to be a tour-only release, but demand from fans led to its official release. [1] Fleet Foxes had stated that Sun Giant was pressed so that they had something to sell on tour and clarified that the music did not indicate their ambitions. [2] Despite this, the EP met with widespread critical acclaim; it was named the best album of 2008 by Pitchfork along with their debut LP. [3]

Contents

Background and release

Sun Giant was mostly recorded in January 2008 at Bear Creek, Woodinville, Washington. Additional recording was made at the band's house and Stuart Hollerman's Avasti Studio, the latter was also the place where the EP was mixed. [4]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Drowned in Sound 8/10 [6]
Gigwise Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
The Independent Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [8]
The Line of Best Fit 90% [9]
MusicOMH Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [10]
The Observer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Pitchfork 8.7/10 [12]
Robert Christgau Rating-Christgau-dud.svg [13]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [14]

Sun Giant received widespread acclaim from music critics. Billboard said that the EP featured "harmony-rich songs more in keeping with Crosby, Stills & Nash, a welcome turn away from the agitated dance-rock still so prominent in the indie world." [15] Rolling Stone gave the EP three-out-of-four stars, and said that "with ramshackle rising-and-falling guitars, CSNY-style harmonies and the occasional mandolin plink, this five-track EP will make you pine for summer in the country," although the magazine said their songwriting was a bit thin. [14] Sun Giant peaked at number 170 in the US Billboard 200 chart. [16]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Robin Pecknold.

No.TitleLength
1."Sun Giant"2:14
2."Drops in the River"4:13
3."English House"4:41
4."Mykonos"4:35
5."Innocent Son"3:07
Total length:18:50

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Sun Giant, which also state that: "We all played many an instrument. An itemized and individualized list would be egotistical and tiresome". [4]

Charts

Chart performance for Sun Giant
Chart (2009)Peak
position
UK Budget Albums (OCC) [17] 12
US Billboard 200 [16] 170

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broken Social Scene</span> Canadian indie rock band

Broken Social Scene is a Canadian indie rock band, a musical collective including as few as six and as many as nineteen members, formed by Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning in 1999. Alongside Drew and Canning, the other core members of the band are Justin Peroff (drums), Andrew Whiteman (guitar) and Charles Spearin (guitar).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calexico (band)</span> American rock band

Calexico is a Tucson, Arizona-based Americana, Tex-Mex, indie rock band. The band's two main members, Joey Burns and John Convertino, first played together in Los Angeles as part of the group Giant Sand. They have recorded a number of albums on Quarterstick Records, and their 2005 EP, In the Reins, recorded with Iron & Wine, reached the Billboard 200 album charts. Their musical style is influenced by traditional Latin sounds of mariachi, conjunto, cumbia, and tejano mixed with country, jazz, and post-rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M. Ward</span> American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Oregon

Matthew Stephen Ward, known professionally as M. Ward, is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Portland, Oregon. Ward's solo work is a mixture of folk and blues-inspired Americana analog recordings. He has released 10 studio albums since 1999, primarily through the independent label Merge Records. In addition to his solo work, he is a member of indie pop duo She & Him and folk-rock supergroup Monsters of Folk, and also participates in recording, producing, and playing with multiple other artists.

<i>Picaresque</i> (album) 2005 studio album by The Decemberists

Picaresque is the third studio album from The Decemberists. It was released in 2005 on the Kill Rock Stars record label. The word "picaresque" refers to a form of satirical prose originating in Spain, depicting realistically and often humorously the adventures of a low-born, roguish hero living by their wits in a corrupt society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marissa Nadler</span> American singer-songwriter

Marissa Nadler is an American musician and fine artist. Active since 2000, she is currently signed to Sacred Bones Records and Bella Union, and released her ninth full-length studio album, The Path of the Clouds, in October 2021. As a singer-songwriter, her music has been characterized as blending "traditional folk, Gothic Americana, and dreamy pop into an original musical framework". Her music "is rooted in old-school country and folk but brings in elements of experimental and black metal". Sometimes the term "dream folk" has been invoked to describe her work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Bird</span> American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist

Andrew Wegman Bird is an American indie rock multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Since 1996, he has released 16 studio albums, as well as several live albums and EPs, spanning various genres including swing music, indie rock, and folk music. He is primarily known for his unique style of violin playing, accompanied by loop and effect pedals, whistling, and voice. In the 1990s, he sang and played violin in several jazz ensembles, including Squirrel Nut Zippers and Kevin O'Donnell's Quality Six. He went on to start his own swing ensemble, Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire, which released three albums between 1998 and 2001. Weather Systems (2003) was his first solo album after Bowl of Fire disbandment, and it marked a departure from jazz music into indie music. Bird's 2019 album My Finest Work Yet was nominated for "Best Folk Album" at the 2020 Grammy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fleet Foxes</span> American indie folk band

Fleet Foxes is an American indie folk band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 2006. The band consists of Robin Pecknold, Skyler Skjelset, Casey Wescott, Christian Wargo, and Morgan Henderson.

<i>Fleet Foxes</i> (album) 2008 studio album by Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes is the debut studio album by American band Fleet Foxes, released on June 3, 2008, by Sub Pop and Bella Union. The album garnered wide praise from critics, many of whom named it one of the best albums of the 2000s and one of the greatest debut albums of all time.

The discography of American alternative rock band The Innocence Mission consists of twelve studio albums, two compilation album, two releases issued for free download, five EPs, seventeen singles, ten music videos, and numerous appearances on soundtrack, tribute and sampler albums. The band have had their songs included on over a hundred different compilations and soundtracks, with many of those including the same select few songs. Therefore, only compilations and soundtracks which featured exclusive or otherwise rare content have been included. Also included on this list are their various solo albums and collaborations with other recording artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mykonos (song)</span> 2009 single by Fleet Foxes

Mykonos is a song by American indie folk band Fleet Foxes, from their second EP Sun Giant (2008). It was released in the UK on January 27, 2009, by European label Bella Union; in the format of 7" vinyl as well as a digital download, and peaked at number 51 on the UK Singles Chart. The B-side is a live version of "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" from their debut album. On May 5, 2009, it was released in the U.S. on Seattle-based record label Sub Pop, with the song "False Knight On the Road" in place of "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song". An alternate version of the song, with a track length of 3:39, was released on the deluxe version of their debut album Fleet Foxes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Pecknold</span> American singer-songwriter (born 1986)

Robin Noel Pecknold is an American singer-songwriter, who serves as the principal songwriter and vocalist for indie folk band Fleet Foxes, with whom he has recorded four studio albums. He is known for his distinct baritenor voice and introspective lyrics.

<i>Helplessness Blues</i> 2011 studio album by Fleet Foxes

Helplessness Blues is the second studio album by American band Fleet Foxes, released on May 3, 2011, by Sub Pop and Bella Union. The album received universal acclaim from critics, going on to be nominated for Best Folk Album for the 54th Grammy Awards. The release peaked at number 4 on the Billboard 200, the band's highest position on the chart to date. To support the album, the Fleet Foxes embarked on a worldwide Helplessness Blues Tour.

The Helplessness Blues Tour was a world tour by Seattle folk band Fleet Foxes in support of their second album Helplessness Blues which was released on May 3, 2011. The tour visited North America, Europe, Oceania and Japan.

Neal Morgan is an American drummer, arranger of drums and percussion, and singer-songwriter. Morgan is best known as the drummer for Joanna Newsom and Bill Callahan.

<i>More Rain</i> 2016 studio album by M. Ward

More Rain is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter M. Ward. The album was released on March 4, 2016, on Merge Records and Bella Union. More Rain is Ward's first solo album since 2012's A Wasteland Companion, having released Volume Three and Classics with Zooey Deschanel as She & Him in the interim as well as recording and producing other artists.

<i>Crack-Up</i> (album) 2017 studio album by Fleet Foxes

Crack-Up is the third studio album by American band Fleet Foxes, released on June 16, 2017, by Nonesuch Records. It is the follow-up to their 2011 album Helplessness Blues, following the band's three-year hiatus from 2013 to 2016. It is also the band's first release on the Nonesuch label since departing Sub Pop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fleet Foxes discography</span>

The discography of Fleet Foxes, a Seattle-based indie folk and folk rock band, consists of four studio albums, three extended plays (EP), and nine singles. Fleet Foxes was formed in 2006 by vocalist Robin Pecknold and guitarist Skyler Skjelset, and were then joined by keyboardist Casey Wescott, bassist Bryn Lumsden, and drummer Nicholas Peterson.

<i>First Collection 2006–2009</i> 2018 compilation album by Fleet Foxes

First Collection 2006–2009 is a Fleet Foxes compilation, released on 9 November 2018 to mark the tenth anniversary of their debut album. It is a special limited-edition collection.

<i>Shore</i> (album) 2020 studio album by Fleet Foxes

Shore is the fourth studio album by American band Fleet Foxes, released on September 22, 2020, by Anti- Records.

<i>A Very Lonely Solstice</i> 2021 live album by Fleet Foxes

A Very Lonely Solstice is the first live album by American band Fleet Foxes, released on December 10, 2021, by Anti- Records. It was first livestreamed as a pre-recorded concert film on December 21, 2020.

References

  1. "Interview With Fleet Foxes A&R Sue Busch", HitQuarters , 4 May 2009.
  2. Gill, Andy (April 25, 2008). "Album: Fleet Foxes, Sun Giant (Bella Union)". The Independent . Retrieved January 25, 2009.
  3. "The 50 Best Albums of 2008". Pitchfork . December 19, 2008. Archived from the original on March 17, 2009. Retrieved December 21, 2008.
  4. 1 2 Sun Giant (liner notes). Fleet Foxes. Sub Pop. 2008. SPCD 781.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. Phares, Heather. "Sun Giant – Fleet Foxes". AllMusic . Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  6. "Fleet Foxes – Sun Giant EP". Drowned in Sound . Archived from the original on October 2, 2012. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
  7. Perlaki, Mark (April 17, 2008). "Fleet Foxes - 'Sun Giant EP' (Bella Union) Released 05/05/08". Gigwise . Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  8. Gill, Andy (April 25, 2008). "Album: Fleet Foxes, Sun Giant (Bella Union)". The Independent . Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  9. Hughes, Rich (May 2, 2008). "Fleet Foxes – Sun Giant EP". The Line of Best Fit . Archived from the original on May 5, 2008. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  10. Welsh, David (May 5, 2008). "Fleet Foxes – Sun Giant EP". MusicOMH . Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  11. "Reviews 11-25". The Observer . April 20, 2008. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  12. Deusner, Stephen (February 29, 2008). "Fleet Foxes: Sun Giant EP". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  13. Christgau, Robert. "Fleet Foxes" . Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  14. 1 2 Endelman, Michael (April 17, 2008). "Sun Giant EP". Rolling Stone . No. 1050. p. 65.
  15. Cohen, Jonathan (April 12, 2008). "Sun Giant". Billboard . Vol. 120, no. 15. p. 42.
  16. 1 2 "Fleet Foxes Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  17. "Chart Log UK - 1994–2010 - Adam F – FYA". Official Zobbel Website. Tobias Zywietz. Retrieved March 24, 2023.