A Very Lonely Solstice

Robin Pecknold brings light to the bleakest of winters with Fleet Foxes’ ‘A Very Lonely Solstice’, a 13-track career spanning collection recorded in December 2020, at Brooklyn, NY’s St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church.

‘A Very Lonely Solstice’ captures a poignant moment in time. The recording was originally broadcasted as a live-stream event on the winter solstice of 2020, just days after New York declared a state of emergency tightening restrictions again in response to increasing COVID-19 cases. Pecknold describes the set as “me by myself on the longest night of the year… honouring the loneliness of 2020 with a nylon string and some songs new and old.” Fans worldwide tuned in while quarantined at home, finding solace and a sense of community in a period of extreme isolation.

Much of ‘A Very Lonely Solstice’ showcases a solo focus on Pecknold who offers up acoustic arrangements of fan-favourite songs spanning Fleet Foxes’ catalogue. Selections cover all four of the band’s studio albums, including their 2008 self-titled debut album (“Tiger Mountain Peasant Song”) to 2011’s Helplessness Blues (“Blue Spotted Tail”) and 2017’s Crack-Up (“If You Need To, Keep Time On Me”), all the way to their latest GRAMMY-nominated release, Shore. Resistance Revival Chorus joins Pecknold on Shore tracks “Wading In Waist-High Water” and “Can I Believe You.” A cover of Nina Simone’s “In The Morning” and a rearrangement of the traditional “Silver Dagger” also feature.