Paul Carr: Fleet Foxes serve up another taste of their new album with this progressive folk song that comes across like a lost and less psychedelic Jefferson Airplane number. As expected it harnesses the power of the harmonies which after six years sound as fresh as ever. Just when things seem to be getting too settled the mood and tempo shift to reveal a gauzy, floaty gem of a chorus. A timely reminder of what we’ve been missing. [8/10]
Steve Horowitz: The music has epic pretensions, but the mix here is purposely muddy and doesn’t serve the song well. The human spirit gets lost. The harmonies get filtered through a haze. The ambition behind the song suggests the song may be killer live. Unfortunately, that is more suggested than real on this recording. [5/10]
Adriane Pontecorvo: The video for “Fool’s Errand” seems a little overblown, full of cryptic symbolism and opening in medias res, making the point that it’s part of something larger, but the song is a good one that plays to all of Fleet Foxes’ strengths. Vocal harmonies tug on the heartstrings, and guitars convey that distinct, band-defining sense of folk epic that Fleet Foxes does so much better than just about any other contemporary band. A little pretentious? Perhaps, but if anyone can pull it off — or at least make a song worth such an over-the-top video, it’s Fleet Foxes. [7/10]
Mike Schiller: The idea of “Fool’s Errand” is fine. Fleet Foxes have put together an interesting composition that is extremely Fleet Foxes in nature, all rich harmonies, and acoustic guitars and implied campfires. The problem is that none of the melodies stick, the steady pulse of the verse doesn’t quite mesh with the slow 6/8 of the chorus, and the video is just this side of parody. That chorus, though, it nearly saves the song, its chord progressions inventive and sublime, but it’s almost as though they tried to squeeze too many notes in the vocal melody. The barely-related keyboard coda doesn’t help, even if it is rather pretty. “Fools Errand” is a collection of fine ideas in search of a common thread. [5/10]
SCORE: 6.25