Is a New Fleet Foxes Album Coming? Seattle, Washington's Robin Pecknold Says Yes, and the Fantano Line Was a Joke

Seattle, Washington's Fleet Foxes haven't released a studio album since 2020's Shore, but frontman Robin Pecknold says the next one is in the works. Dork reported on Sept. 15, 2026, that the band is actively working on a new album, and that Pecknold made clear his line about The Needle Drop's Anthony Fantano was a joke. Dork did not say where Pecknold made the comments.

The Fantano moment

On Sept. 17, two days after Dork's report, The Needle Drop posted a video and article titled "IT'S ALL MY FAULT." In it, Fantano jokingly took the blame for the wait and said Pecknold was "kind of taking his time in the process to make sure the album is Fantano-proof."

Fantano called those fears "a little over-exaggerated," said "I like some Fleet Foxes," and added that it would take "a pretty terrible record" for him to call it not good. Dork's report gave no title or release date for the album.

From Kirkland to the Grammys

Pecknold, born in Seattle in 1986, and guitarist Skyler Skjelset both attended Lake Washington High School in Kirkland, a Seattle suburb. They formed Fleet Foxes in Seattle in 2006 and signed to Sub Pop on Jan. 18, 2008, according to Wikipedia.

The self-titled debut arrived June 3, 2008. Helplessness Blues followed on May 3, 2011, which makes 2026 its 15th anniversary. It reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200, the band's greatest commercial success to date, and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album.

After Crack-Up on Nonesuch in 2017, Pecknold made Shore without the other members of the band. Anti- released it exactly at the autumnal equinox, Sept. 22, 2020, alongside a 55-minute companion film on YouTube. It was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the 64th Grammy Awards.

What Pecknold has been up to

Between albums, Pecknold has kept a wide orbit. Wikipedia notes he moved to New York in 2013 to study English at Columbia's School of General Studies, then left in 2016 to tour with Joanna Newsom.

He co-wrote and performed "Phoenix" with Anaïs Mitchell for Big Red Machine's 2021 album How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last?, and the band released the live album A Very Lonely Solstice digitally that December. The concert film Live on Boston Harbor followed in December 2022.

The Seattle roots run deep, too: Wikipedia says Pecknold's father played in a Seattle soul band in the 1960s.

Fleet Foxes have 199K Instagram followers as of October 2026.

Where to listen and follow

Fleet Foxes' catalog is out on Sub Pop (the debut and Sun Giant), Nonesuch (Crack-Up) and Anti- (Shore), and streams on all major platforms. News lives at the band's official site, fleetfoxes.co.

Sources

Dork — "Fleet Foxes are actively working on a new album, Robin Pecknold says"
The Needle Drop — "IT'S ALL MY FAULT"
Wikipedia — "Fleet Foxes"
Wikipedia — "Shore (album)"
Wikipedia — "Robin Pecknold"