“White Winter Hymnal” by Fleet Foxes

"White Winter Hymnal" was the first single from Fleet Foxes' self-titled 2008 debut, and it may have saved a record label. Simon Raymonde, the former Cocteau Twins bassist who runs Bella Union, was thinking about closing the label over money troubles when he heard a demo of it; he liked it so much that he kept going and signed the band.

It's easy to hear why. Robin Pecknold wrote it and leads a round of voices that tumbles over itself, Craig Curran, Nicholas Peterson and Casey Wescott stacking the harmonies until the song sounds like a choir in a snowbound barn, with Peterson's drums thumping underneath. Phil Ek produced and mixed it. The single came with a non-album track, "Isles", on the flip.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.