According to pitchfork.com, indie folk band Fleet Foxes have shared their two cover songs today Their new version of The Strokes’s “Under Control” features Uwade, while the second cover is Joni Mitchell’s “Hejira” featuring Daniel Rossen and Robin Pecknold’s father, Greg Pecknold.

In the following statement Pecknold discussed the cover of “Under Control,” which Fleet Foxes performed with Uwade on tour last year.

“Last summer we were honored to have the incredible vocalist and songwriter Uwade Akhere open for us on tour.One thing we all bonded over backstage was a shared love of the Strokes—hearing Uwa’s voice echoing down the halls as she sang ‘The End Has No End’ or ‘Reptilia’ was always a highlight of the day.”

The musician adds: “Considering this, I thought she might get a kick out of singing ‘Under Control’ with us and the Westerlies at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium in Queens, so we pulled it together at soundcheck and asked her—it was amazing! She ruled it.”

As for the “Hejira” cover, Pecknold states: “My father built bass guitars and played in bands in his twenties and thirties in the Northwest; his dream was to be Joni Mitchell’s bassist, like the great Jaco Pastorius. Right before our surprise show with Joanna Newsom in March, I bought back for him one of the fretless basses he had made in the ’80s, and I thought it would be sweet for us to play ‘Hejira’ together, on the same bill as Joanna, the Joni of our time. It was also an honor to be joined by Daniel Rossen for this, one of the greatest musicians of the last 20 years. Thank you, Dan and Dad!”

As a whole, both cover songs are great because the instrumentation brings a strong kick of folk music into rock and soft rock. Also the music shows how Fleet Foxes are inspired by The Strokes and Mitchell by how the the instrumentation and vocal performances captures the love Fleet Foxes have for The Strokes and Mitchell. Absolutely beautiful covers songs.

Photo Credit: Kalyn Oyer