It’s been six long years since indie-folk band Fleet Foxes released an album. Just for some perspective, Helplessness Blues came out in 2011, the same year that the world’s population surpassed 7 Billion, Charlie Sheen was mid public breakdown, and you could still see a Harry Potter movie in theatres. For fans of the Seattle-based band, the new album Crack-Up could not have come sooner.

Crack-Up contains all the hallmarks of a Fleet Foxes album: ethereal vocals, melancholy harmonies, and lyrics that read like a Walt Whitman poem. But this album stands out from the previous works in its mood and complexity. Where the band’s self-titled album sounded like it’d been written by a folksy old man chewing on a stalk of wheat under a tree, Crack-Up seems to have been written by someone who’s naiveté has given way to cynicism and introspection. In songs like Fool’s Errand, lead singer and songwriter Robin Pecknold ruminates on his inability to look past his own rose-colored glasses when it comes to his hopes for love (I knew you fine, slight dream of mine / But I know my eyes, they’ve often lied). The song evokes feelings of serenity in the face of a hopeless situation.

Crack-Up is ambitious, not only in its lyrics, but also its experimental melodies. The album is filled with unconventional instruments and unexpected breaks from form. I Am All That I Need / Arroyo Seco / Thumbprint Scar, an energetic song with thick harmonies, breaks off at points to give way to a single voice singing a single line low and mumbled. The contrast this provides forces you to listen actively to the message Robin Pecknold is conveying. And while the album doesn’t have one song that stands out from the rest like the previous two albums did, Crack-Up still draws you in for listen after listen.

This album practically makes up for the long hiatus with its thoughtful lyrics and ambitious compositions. Fans of Fleet Foxes will be comforted by the album’s familiar (but still original) sound, and those who aren’t fans may just be convinced otherwise.

4.8/5 Stars