User Score
Universal acclaim- based on 245 Ratings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 227 out of 245
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Mixed: 11 out of 245
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Negative: 7 out of 245
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Nov 20, 2021Satisfying indie folk masterpiece that solidified fleet foxes status amongst indie greats. All considerd their is a dramatic emptiness that subtracts from the songs intentions.
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Apr 8, 2021A very human, accessible, and mature record that is filled with so much true passion and emotion.
9.6/10 -
Jul 5, 2020Beautiful record, the awesomeness washes over you again and again and again
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Jan 5, 2020I honestly believe this is the perfect folk-rock record. It's lush and beautiful, the lyrics are poetic, but it doesn't shy away from pushing the genre in fresh creative ways either. Fleet Foxes might just be my all-time favorite band.
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Jan 1, 2020
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Nov 14, 2019Beautifully written and poetic descriptions of trying to find yourself in your 20s and beyond.
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Oct 24, 2019I think this will be one of those albums that will age well as the years go on. One that you'll be proud to show your children and childrens children. It's honestly one of the most impressive follow up albums to an already monumental successful first album. LISTEN TO THIS!
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Feb 18, 2019
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Jan 8, 2018
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May 23, 2017
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Mar 17, 2017Go home NME, you're drunk. This record is filled with the experimentalist folky madness that Fleet Foxes have claimed as their own. They've definitely proven themselves a force to be reckoned with.
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Apr 21, 2015What I have to say has already been said better by others.
Highlights:
This album is wonderful, an amazing expression of emotion. In addition, Helplessness Blues (the actual track) is my favorite song ever written. Nothing else hits as close to home and sounds so stunning as it does.
Nothing else to say - 10/10, easily. -
Dec 5, 2014
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Jan 12, 2014I give it a 9.75.
-Brilliant instruments (mostly acoustic guitar)
-Beautiful vocals
-Tremendous songwriting
Great album, matches with their previous one, both are fantastic and I don't think I could pick which one I like better -
Jul 1, 2013Not as accessible as their first album. Less structured and more jam-oriented, it took a few listens to really get into it. But once you stop looking for patterns, hooks, and other familiarities that we typically listen for and let yourself be carried away by the flawless harmony and imagery of this album, you'll reach the nirvana that few bands but Fleet Foxes can deliver.
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Oct 22, 2012Sonically compelling all throughout and endlessly unique and interesting, "Helplessness Blues" solidifies the Fleet Foxes as one of the best folk/pop/rock hybrids the world has ever seen.
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Mar 10, 2012Helplessness Blues steps up the soundscape for Fleet Foxes to a new level. The undeniable greatness of the vocal harmonies remain with new and different instrumental sounds making this album all its own. This is 2011's defining moment in music, one that deserves to be remembered forever.
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Jan 5, 2012This is a beautiful album, when I make a cup of coffee and put paint to canvas, nothing inspires me more than this album. I honestly thought they couldn't top thier first effort, but now I think they did. Helplessness Blues deserves a 10 and in my opinion is a tossup for best album of the year with Tom Waits 'Bad as Me."
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Dec 30, 2011Fleet Foxes' harmonious music is a work of true craftsmanship. Helplessness Blues, like it's predecessor is an elegant and entrancing experience. It will leave you stunned and ultimately moved.
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Dec 14, 2011oh dear it would help if they wrote actual songs here but instead we' re are mistreated to song treatments, fragments if you will instead of the actual thing, all done in the inimitable style of CSN. hey deja vu all over again, it was bad the first time around, it's not getting any better this time.
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Nov 9, 2011
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Oct 31, 2011
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Oct 28, 2011BEAUTIFUL, just everything I could ever want in an album, seeing them live confirmed their true musical genius. I feel as though they really tried to make this album slightly more interesting than the first, which was already great. Perhaps the most underrated track is "The Cascades", what a stunning instrumental, really takes you on a mental journey. Long live Fleet Foxes!!!
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Oct 24, 2011Snobbed by NME, this album is an emotional and powerful journey touching 40 years of American music:it is instant classic in an alternative way. Vocal performances make me dream and cry as few things heard before
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Oct 12, 2011Nearly perfect record ... adventurous and unique, this album will stand the test of time. It doesn't "rock", and there's no Stephen Stills in this band (as they are often compared to CSNY,) but it does something more. It conveys a mood brilliantly and it's parts bring together some of the most gorgeous, honest and original song writing to come along in a long, long time.
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Oct 4, 2011Beautiful, and nothing less, Helplessness Blues is an instant classic. Lyrically and melodically superb it is the epitome of great folk music. The first time I heard Lorelai I began to tear up, and when I watched the Fleet Foxes perform Montezuma live I cried. I really feel I can connect with this album on a personal level, and maybe that is why I find it so remarkable.
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Oct 3, 2011If you havenâ
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Sep 11, 2011There are a couple of great songs here, but for the most part this album feels bland, unexciting and disingenuous in comparison to their debut. They may have extended their musical vocabulary slightly, but all it seems to have done is result in aimless instrumental portions.
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Sep 6, 2011Fleet Foxes' second album doesn't have the same impact as their debut, but still the songwriting is solid stuff and alike their debut, the album grows throughout and becomes better and better as you go along.
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Sep 2, 2011I was letdown by this follow up effort and wished it was more of the harmonic melodies on prior release. I don't see this CD as a step in right direction and hope Fleet foxes gets back to their first 2 releases pattern of beautiful lyrics and arrangements.
Awards & Rankings
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Jun 30, 2011The words are as woodsy and quaint as ever. Pecknold seems to take his inspiration from classic British poetry, and rarely refers to objects, characters, or events that would place him in the 21st century, relying instead on imagery like old stone fountains, seeds, keys, sand, and the night sky.
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Jun 9, 2011Where its predecessor corralled modern versions of The Canterbury Tales that the band's foxhunting moniker continues to evoke, Pecknold's Helplessness relies on a suitelike flow in the absence of greatest hits.
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Q MagazineMay 31, 2011Both mysterious and inviting, Helplessness Blues retains and expands what made the debut so special. It's an open door to a private world. [Jun 2011, p.108]