Whatever happened to ROBIN PECKNOLD and FLEET FOXES? In Seattle, Uncut’s Stephen Deusner gatecrashes the band’s first rehearsal in five years, and gets the exclusive story on the making of their astonishing comeback album, Crack-Up: a tale of university, F Scott Fitzgerald, surfing, Zen retreats and “mental nightmares” in the studio. “There are times on the record,” admits Skyler Skjelset, “when you can hear Robin losing it…”
I’m all that I need,” Robin Pecknold sings, low and hushed, gently picking the first few guitar notes from the first song on Fleet Foxes’ first record in six years. Even in this grey Seattle practice room – windowless and anonymous, chock-a-block with music instruments, criss-crossed with cords, littered with empty salmon jerky packets – the moment is starkly and powerfully intimate, full of weight and portent. The five other musicians in the room become in very quiet, awaiting the beat when they all join in the song together. And then Pecknold is flattened by a train.
More accurately, by a sample of a train, which chugs along in the background of “I Am All That I Need”/“Arroyo Seco”/“Thumbprint Scar”, the six-and-a-half-minute suite that kicks off the majestic Crack-Up. The album may be the most-anticipated release of the year, a welcome return of the band who snuck West Coast folk-rock back into the mainstream and became one of the biggest indie-rock acts of the late 2000s. But today, nearly three months before the public will hear the new songs Pecknold has been working on for years, Fleet Foxes are simply trying to catch a train. Loud, industrial, and violently intrusive, it’s a gremlin in the works.
Denne historien er fra June 2017-utgaven av Uncut UK.
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Denne historien er fra June 2017-utgaven av Uncut UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Kim Gordon: La Ghosts & Flowers
As KIM GORDON prepares to release No Home Record – her brilliant debut solo album – she takes stock of her consistently adventurous career so far. To discuss: her early days in New York’s Downtown, cooking with Neil Young and the perils of gentrification. “Life is unexpected,” she tells Tom Pinnock
Tinariwen: Even Nomads Get The Blues
A lot has changed for TINARIWEN since they became superstars of desert rock’n’roll. But their Saharan homeland remains as troubled as ever. We track the band down in Morocco, where Michael Bonner hears tales of exile, insurgency and belonging. “As long as people are oppressed, there will be room for protest music,” they explain
Angel Olsen: Her Bright Materials
Welcome to Asheville, North Carolina, where ANGEL OLSEN is poised to release her new album, All Mirrors. Erin Osmon joins the singer-songwriter at home to discuss heartbreak, fantasy property deals and her latest bold pop experiment. “Sometimes your dreams are not what they seem,” she says
“I Was Insatiable!”
From a back garden in Epsom to the stage of the O2 – via Bombay, New York, Marrakesh and Beijing – join us as JIMMY PAGE guides us through 60 years’ worth of his marvellous adventures. CliffRichard! Exorcisms! “A cauldron of inspiration”! There are road trips with The Yardbirds, magical recording sessions at Headley Grange, his ongoing relationship with Robert Plant and the vast musical legacy of Led Zeppelin to consider. “I was dealt a very good hand,” Page tells Michael Odell. “And I like to think I played it well.”
'I Was Pretty Bad At Being A Pop Star'
Riding high on the back of Bon Iver’s endorsement and his finest album in years, the piano master discusses the Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, cryogenics and appearing in “some of the worst videos ever made”
The Go-Betweens - G Stands For Go-Betweens: Volume 2 – 1985–1989 Domino
Australian indie ambassadors’ golden age showcased in opulent style.
It's Too Late To Stop Now
Has VAN MORRISON mellowed at last? After yet another remarkable period in his ongoing creative renaissance, the Celtic soul warrior is on good form as he talks R&B, transcendence and mythical bootlegs with Graeme Thomson. “I didn’t know what the hell I was doing for quite a while,” he reveals
Robert Plant - Digging Deep
ESPARANZA 7/10 Percy on 45! A boxset of 7”s traces Plant’s post-Zep progress. By Michael Bonner
Leonard Cohen - Thanks For The Dance
The poet’s intimate musical postscript.
'I'll Tell You The Full Story…'
During the past 12 months, a series of lavish boxsets have tracked DAVID BOWIE’s early development throughout 1968 and 1969. As this comprehensive archeological survey concludes with Conversation Piece, long-serving producer TONY VISCONTI relives the highs and lows of Bowie’s breakthrough. There are ham sandwiches, Marc Bolan impressions, the peerless “Space Oddity”, and tearful studio interludes… but, most importantly, we learn how the music made during this brief but pivotal period critically influenced one superstar in the making: David Bowie himself…
