Pitchfork

Just a year after it first hit, Fleet Foxes are reissuing a "deluxe" edition of their self-titled debut. It'll be packaged with the excellent Sun Giant EP and appended with a new track, "False Knight on the Road", a traditional ballad that Pecknold originally recorded and posted under the name White Antelope. The trend of the "deluxe" repackage of recently released albums is a dubious one, but I'll give the band the benefit of the doubt here. First of all, the re-release is obviously aimed at newcomers to the band, who probably saw them on SNL or opening for Wilco. Second, it's nice that a band like Fleet Foxes can achieve the sort of popularity that would portend a deluxe reissue, however dodgy such a release might be. Third, his White Antelope backing band is all gnomes. Fourth and most crucial, this is a really good version of "False Knight". It's a strong showcase for Pecknold's voice, which wears the reverb well, and the stark, acoustic accompaniment evokes the inner conflict suggested in the lyrics. It's possible that this cover-- as well as his excellent take on Judee Sill's "Crayon Angels"-- could serve be a rebuttal to all those persistent and derogatory CSN comparisons, but his affection for the material comes through.

Stream:> White Antelope: "False Knight on the Road"
[from the "Mykonos" 7" and the deluxe UK reissue of Fleet Foxes]