The band came to prominence in 2008 with the release of their second EP Sun Giant and their eponymous debut album on Sub Pop, both of which met with widespread critical acclaim.

The group's work has been consistently lauded by music critics, who have praised their lyricism and production style and often noted the band's use of refined instrumentation and vocal harmonies.

Robin Pecknold and Skyler Skjelset both attended Lake Washington High School in Kirkland, a suburb of Seattle, and soon became close friends.

[4] Their parents influenced their musical tastes early on—Skjelset's mother Peggi was a keen listener to both Dylan and Hank Williams while Pecknold's father Greg was a member of The Fathoms, a local 1960s soul group.

Pecknold's late-sixties pop style caught the attention of the Seattle producer Phil Ek and he helped them record their first demo in 2006, the self-released Fleet Foxes EP.

With growing popularity on the local circuit, the band set about making their first album in early 2007, spending time in the studio with producer Ek in addition to recording material at home.

[4] Fleet Foxes were becoming increasingly popular and by late 2007, they had attracted over a quarter of a million song plays over two months on their Myspace site.

[9] The band tracked their second EP, Sun Giant, at Bear Creek Studio and performed overdubs and mixed at Seattle's Avast!

[11] Before the recording of the EP, bassist Curran was replaced by Christian Wargo, whose voice, like that of his predecessor, would become an important part of the band's harmony blend.

[5] Sun Giant was released internationally on April 8, 2008, and the group's brand of folk, rock and pop, marked by their use of vocal harmonies, was well received by the press.

Fleet Foxes received four out of five stars from Rolling Stone, which compared it to the likes of the Beach Boys, Animal Collective, and Crosby, Stills & Nash,[16] and a 9.0 out of 10 in a review by Pitchfork Media, sharing the website's album of the year rank with the Sun Giant EP.

[20] While the group enjoyed moderate success in the United States, Fleet Foxes was better received in Europe, selling over 200,000 copies in the five months following its release.

[22] Uncut's editor, Allan Jones, said the album "showed impeccable musicianship, and although you could trace its antecedents, it sounded totally unique.

The album features a new six-piece band line up, with the addition of the former Blood Brothers bassist Morgan Henderson on upright bass and woodwind instruments.

[27] The album, Helplessness Blues, was released on May 3, 2011, with a cover illustrated by the Seattle artist Toby Liebowitz and painted by Christopher Alderson.

A 12" vinyl double A-side single of "Helplessness Blues" and "Grown Ocean" was released for Record Store Day on April 16, 2011.

So that tour I had to endure being around a lot of substance abuse, sabotaged shows, just general ill treatment, shit-talking, all while paying him for songs he didn't have anything to do with.

[31]On June 15, 2013, an image of a home recording set-up—including a laptop computer, microphone and guitar—was posted on the Fleet Foxes Facebook page with the caption "Step one.

On March 7, 2017, Fleet Foxes announced their third studio album, Crack-Up, released on June 16, 2017, via Nonesuch Records, a new label for the band.

[41] On May 15, 2017, Fleet Foxes made their live return at the Wilma Theatre in Missoula, in which they performed nine songs from Crack-Up along with a selection of older material and a cover of "In the Morning" by Bee Gees.

[42] The band's live line-up included Matt Barrick of The Walkmen,[43] who was also the most heavily featured of the three guest drummers who contributed to Crack-Up.

On October 10, 2017, the band announced the release of a new EP, entitled The Electric Lady Session, for Black Friday Record Store Day 2017.

The EP was released on November 24 of that year, and is a collection of live performances of four songs from Crack-Up, originally recorded for their session at Fordham University's radio station WFUV.

[44][45] For Record Store Day 2018, the band released another EP, entitled "Crack Up (Choral Version)"/"In The Morning (Live in Switzerland)", in collaboration with the Icelandic female choir, Graduale Nobili.

Due to a desire to release the album quickly, Pecknold did not enlist the help of bandmates Skjelset, Wescott, Wargo, or Henderson.