It’s come to our attention via Pitchfork that Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold has two new(ish) songs up on the MySpace under the alias White Antelope.

"False Knight on the Road” is a delicate, solemn ballad that sounds ancient, possibly from the 18th century, but was probably composed last month. "Guitar Duet” is a beautiful folk miniature. These stripped-down, well-crafted pieces represent no radical departure from the Fleet Foxes signature sound and should please the band’s ever-expanding fan base.

I put in a query to Pecknold to try to gather more insight.

UPDATE: Robin Pecknold thoroughly elaborates:

"'False Knight on the Road' is an old ballad from the Francis Child English/Scottish traditionals songbook that I first head on the Maddy Prior/Tim Hart record Summer Solstice. All I really did was change the 'tis' and 'methinks' to 'it's' and 'I think' and arrange an open tuning guitar part. Stroke of genius I know.

"The 'Guitar Duet' was a song that I wrote just so I could listen to it, the same way one would make food for themselves or put together a chair to sit in or something. That sounds pretentious but I was into the idea of making music that only you would listen to or where that's the intention from the beginning.

"This isn't really a 'project' in the sense of signing to a label and making records and doing interviews and shows and stuff... It will probably be just a myspace page for instrumental acoustic guitar stuff as I learn more about that Robbie Basho-type playing, and covers of old songs I like... pretty low investment. If I get enough 12-string guitar songs together with some covers I could put something out in some limited form maybe, but only if it sounds different enough from the full band to validate two things. Which I guess if it was just 12-string guitar the whole time it would. Hrmm.

"What's weird is that page has been up for like two years."

Pecknold recorded "False Knight" about two weeks ago and the "Guitar Duet" last spring. Now you know.