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Fleet Foxes Cover Elliott Smith’s “Angel in the Snow”
In a move that feels like a sacred passing of the torch between generations of songwriters, Fleet Foxes have released a hauntingly beautiful cover of Elliott Smith's 'Angel in the Snow,' a track that now serves as the emotional centerpiece for the upcoming Michael Showalter film *Oh. What.Fun. * This isn't just another soundtrack addition; it's a profound musical conversation.The original, a fragile home recording from Smith's posthumously released *New Moon* collection, is a winter whisper of quiet devotion, its lo-fi hiss and delicate guitar work feeling like a secret shared in a dimly lit room. Fleet Foxes, masters of modern folk harmony, approach it with the reverence of archivists handling a precious artifact.Robin Pecknold's voice, clear and resonant, doesn't attempt to mimic Smith's signature fragile warble but instead builds a cathedral of sound around the melody, layering the band's trademark lush, baroque harmonies that swell and recede like a tide of memory. It’s a cover that understands its source material intimately—the song’s inherent melancholy isn't erased but is given a new, spacious grandeur, as if viewing a cherished, faded photograph through a beautifully polished, crystal-clear lens.This choice for a Christmas-themed film is particularly astute, reframing the song's title not with holiday kitsch but with a poignant, human longing for peace and connection during a season that often amplifies isolation. The cover exists at a fascinating cultural crossroads, introducing Smith's deeply personal songwriting to a new, perhaps broader, audience while simultaneously allowing Fleet Foxes to pay homage to a clear influence, tracing a direct lineage from 90s indie introspection to the 21st-century folk revival they helped spearhead.For long-time fans of both artists, it’s a gift, a 'what-if' scenario made real, proving that a truly great song is a resilient, malleable thing, capable of bearing new weight and revealing new shades of meaning in the hands of the right interpreters, much like a classic standard being reimagined by a new jazz ensemble. The track immediately invites comparisons to other iconic, respectful covers—Johnny Cash's 'Hurt' or Jeff Buckley's 'Hallelujah'—where the covering artist doesn't just perform a song but fully inhabits and re-contextualizes its soul, creating a new, standalone piece of art that honors the past while firmly existing in the present moment of its release.
#Fleet Foxes
#Elliott Smith
#cover song
#Angel in the Snow
#soundtrack
#featured
