This Is Our Jam: Fleet Foxes, “Bedouin Dress”

I might have described Fleet Foxes' Robin Pecknold’s “I’m Losing Myself” as “pastoral,” but Arkadian associations aside, there was also an ascetic sadness to Pecknold’s solo release that isn’t found in the full-band affair of “Bedouin Dress.” Here, Fleet Foxes’ trademark harmonies are accompanied by prominent violin (fiddle?), and given crisp production. The result? Fleet Foxes’ take on traditional American folk. A more realized sound doesn’t wash away the provincial imagery for which Fleet Foxes are famous (rather, it may even be amplified), but “Bedouin Dress” is more village social than lonesome walk through the woods. It’s good to hear Fleet Foxes heading toward warmer, livelier pastures.