Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal

Some songs take time to grow on you, and those you seem to love most of all, but there is always something special about a song with a hook you recognize instantly, even though you've never heard it before. I stumbled across this track, White Winter Hymnal by Fleet Foxes, and was blown away by the beautiful harmonies and simple, straightforward structure. As basic as it is, the a capella recitations juxtaposed with a lavish Specter-esque wall-of-sound encasing the haunting melody is worth putting on repeat to study the textures–if you're into that sort of thing.

The lyrics have a quality of innocent darkness about them that's pleasantly disturbing. A chorus sings in major key, with a chilling climb to minor:

I was following the pack
All swallowed in their coats
With scarfs of red tied 'round their throats
To keep their little heads
From falling in the snow
And I turned 'round and there you go
And Michael you would fall
And turn the white snow red as strawberries in the summertime