The Fleet Foxes second album Helplessness Blues has been receiving glowing reviews left and right, which makes writing about it slightly daunting, especially when you’re not quite loving it as much as everyone else.  Although there are several tunes that are a head above the rest there are also songs that seem overly complicated and end up distracting from the album as a whole.  The album leads off with the crescendo of “Montzuma,” the likable folk tune with a twist “Bedouin Dress,” the extremely dreamy “Sim Sala Bim” and the empowered “Battery Kinzie.”  After a rather impressive start the album takes a turn with “The Plains/Bitter Dancer” which resembles a gregorian chant and brings the album’s momentum to a bit of a halt.  I’m sure the elaborate harmonies, string instruments I can’t even name and orchestral arrangements are all incredible, but I can’t picture staying in a Saturday night and listening to “The Cascades,” as lovely as it may be.  On the flip side “Helplessness Blues” and “Grown Ocean” are both perfect examples of harnessing the talent of the band but not letting it run away with itself.  Both of these songs have instrumental breakdowns, well placed harmonies and crescendos that add, not take away from the melody or enjoyment of the music. It’s clear what this band does best, I just hope that going forward they don’t try too hard to out clever their audience and lose the heart of the music in the process.