Top 20 Songs of 2008 - #2

By: Jason Giammaria, SoundProof Magazine

				"White Winter Hymnal" by Fleet Foxes

 Another band that came to prominence in 2008, Fleet Foxes jumped onto the scene with their first single "White Winter Hymnal". With lyrics that, if read without music, sound like something Vincent Price would have read to scare the crap out of little kids, "White Winter Hymnal" is frighteningly brilliant in its simplicity.

The song is completely stripped down, yet action packed with mystery. It has a sound that gives the impression it was recorded 50 years ago, with only one verse that is repeated throughout the single and vocals that will haunt you to the core.

Somehow, with the use of that one verse, Fleet Foxes fairytale menace comes through in full colour, with the intricate beat and harmonies chasing away the threat without watering down the story.

It's a song that unexpectedly plants itself in your brain and grows into one of the best songs you will ever hear, all in two-and-a-half minutes.

Video: "White Winter Hymnal" by Fleet Foxes