Sun Giant is an EP

Extended play

An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 by Seattle, Washington

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

-based band Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes are a folk rock band which formed in Seattle, Washington. They are signed to the Sub Pop and Bella Union record labels. The band came to prominence in 2008 with the release of their second EP, Sun Giant, and their debut full length album Fleet Foxes...

, released on April 8, 2008, on Bella Union

Bella Union

Bella Union is an independent record label that was started up by Simon Raymonde and Robin Guthrie in 1997.After releasing records with 4AD for a large part of their career, Cocteau Twins decided to take a step towards independence and started up the Bella Union record label, through which they...

 and Sub Pop

Sub Pop

Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene...

. The EP was named the #1 album of the year by Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...

 in conjunction with their debut LP, Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes (album)

Fleet Foxes is the eponymous debut studio album by the Portland, Oregon-based band Fleet Foxes. It was released on June 3, 2008, in the United States and June 9 in the United Kingdom. The album debuted at #11 on the UK album charts, eventually peaking at #3, and on June 26, 2008, it debuted in...

.

While the EP was released prior to their debut album, Fleet Foxes, the songs on Sun Giant were recorded after those that feature on their full-length album. The band stated that the EP was pressed so that they had something to sell on tour, and clarified that the music was not indicative of their ambitions. Sun Giant was in fact originally intended to be a tour only release, but demand from fans led to its official release.

Track listing

Personnel

The liner notes state that: "We all played many an instrument. An itemized and individual list would be egotistical and tiresome"

• Robin Pecknold - [lead] vocals, various instruments [uncredited: guitar]
• Skyler Skjelset - various instruments [uncredited: lead guitar, mandolin, vocals]
• Casey Wescott - various instruments [uncredited: piano, keyboards, vocals]
• Christian Wargo - various instruments [uncredited: bass, guitar, vocals]
• Nicholas Peterson - various instruments [uncredited: drums, percussion, vocals]
• Phil Ek
  Phil Ek
  Phil Ek is an American record producer, engineer and mixer. Ek began his career in Seattle, Washington, in the early 1990s recording live sound in clubs. He then moved into studio recording, recording small projects and demos for local bands. Around this time, Ek was frequently working with...
  
   - producer, engineer, mixing
• Ed Brooks - mastering

Reception

Critical

Billboard said that the EP featured "harmony-rich songs more in keeping with Crosby, Stills & Nash, a welcome turn away from the agitated dance-rock still so prominent in the indie world." Rolling Stone gave the EP three-out-of-four stars, and said that "with ramshackle rising-and-falling guitars, CSNY-style harmonies and the occasional mandolin plink, this five-track EP will make you pine for summer in the country," although the magazine said their song-writing was a bit thin.