Will Oldham is so prolific these days that a new BPB release of some sort seems to arrive every few months, but a collection of brand new songs is still something to get excited about and I played this several times back to back as soon as it arrived.
The popular line here seems to be that last year's 'Lie Down In The Light' was a "happy" album and that 'Beware' is back to the gloom and doom. Oldham has never been as straightforward an artist as that. While 'Lie Down In The Light' was certainly a collection of largely optimistic songs, it also contained tracks like 'You Want That Picture', a song that truly stopped me in my tracks. A duet between a couple on the verge of breaking up, it was a desperately lonely and touching song, culminating in Oldham singing "..I went outside/ and I looked at the sky and knew someday I'd die/ and everything would be alright...everything comes down to this..". Just stunning.
..and whilst 'Beware' seems largely to be an album warning of the dangers of love, it is not without its humour. 'You don't love me' for example is a country romp with lines such as "...you say my kissing rates a 6". Also, whilst the lyrics in 'Beware' are dark, this is a gorgeous, rich sounding record with plenty of strings, flute and glockenspiel as well as backing harmonies.
There are some amazing songs here. The Nashville-styled 'I Don't Belong To Anyone', lonely, pretty but like much of this record, truly comforting. Oldham's voice is soft and warm even when he sings the album's classic opening lines.. "I want to be your only friend..is that scary?". My favourite though is the penultimate 'Without Work, You Have Nothing', to a VERY similar tune to Jerome Kern's 'The Way You Look Tonight', Oldham sings that despite any of the relationship-issues he has described throughout the album, we will all be alright and "arms will hold you". There are strong reiligious tones on this track but even the most certain non-believer will find comfort when the Prince sings "you will die with love upon you".
This is a really consistent, rewarding piece of work. The lyrics are certainly dark and sometimes uneasy but as a listening experience this is beautiful, rich and warm. A fine, fine album from one of the most special artists of our time.
9.2
['Beware' is out now on cd/lp from Drag City/ Domino]
Showing posts with label bonnie prince billy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bonnie prince billy. Show all posts
Saturday, 14 March 2009
Tuesday, 2 December 2008
continues....
17- Damien Jurado 'Caught In The Trees'
Slight change of direction for Seattle songsmith Damien Jurado. More upbeat songs with terrific harmonies, makes this his most rewarding set to date.
16- Sun Kil Moon 'April'
A really difficult album to get into. The songwriting is as strong as ever from Kozelek but the melodies take a while to 'click'. When they do, you realise that this is a really beautiful album and an album in the truest sense of the word - it works best played for start to finish.
15- Bonnie 'Prince' Billy 'Lie Down In The Light'
A long way from 'I See A Darkness'. Oldham sounds happy and content and this is a gorgeous, uplifting country record that contains some stunning duets. A light touch and a joyful album.
14-12 coming soon.
Slight change of direction for Seattle songsmith Damien Jurado. More upbeat songs with terrific harmonies, makes this his most rewarding set to date.
16- Sun Kil Moon 'April'
A really difficult album to get into. The songwriting is as strong as ever from Kozelek but the melodies take a while to 'click'. When they do, you realise that this is a really beautiful album and an album in the truest sense of the word - it works best played for start to finish.
15- Bonnie 'Prince' Billy 'Lie Down In The Light'
A long way from 'I See A Darkness'. Oldham sounds happy and content and this is a gorgeous, uplifting country record that contains some stunning duets. A light touch and a joyful album.
14-12 coming soon.
Friday, 5 September 2008
Bonnie Prince Billy 'Is It The Sea'
Tracks and Gigs has acquired a promo of the new Bonnie 'Prince' Billy album. Yes, another one! Not content with releasing a live album and a covers album last year and a new studio album this year, here he is with another live album. This is a very different concert recording though. 'Is It The Sea' documents a 2006 gig in Edinburgh where BPB was joined by Scottish drummer Alex Neilson and the (also Scottish) folk group Harem Scarem. I have never heard of this group before, but they clearly contain female singers and all manner of flute, banjo, accordian and fiddle players. It adds a Celtic flavour to the Bonnie Prince's songs and completely changes the feel of some of them.
Will Oldham, like Dylan, seems to regard his songs as ever-changing living things that don't necessarily, on any given night, have to sound anything like they originally did on record. This is why his live albums are rarely dull and why this record reminds me an awful lot of Dylan's incredible Rolling Thunder tour recordings.
The set features songs from throughout Oldham's career as well as a couple of traditional numbers. Highlights include an epic version of 'Cursed Sleep' and a harmony rich reading of 'Ain't You Wealthy, Ain't You Wise'. A take on the traditional Irish folk ballad 'Molly Bawn' steals the show though, building from a waltz into a frenzied finish, it is both haunting and rousing and like nothing else you've heard on a Bonnie 'Prince' Billy album before.
The best live albums always make you wish you had been at the gig and this one does. Its even worse for me because I was in Edinburgh about a week after the show took place! This serves as a wonderful document of the music Oldham and his guests were making on this particular night. He sounds so full of energy and enjoyment from performing the songs in this way, but it wouldn't surprise me if his next gig after this one was a solo acoustic performance. He is one of the great talents in music today and this is an innovative and enjoyable exploration of some of his songs.
8.3
['Is It The Sea' is out in October on Domino on cd/2LP]
Will Oldham, like Dylan, seems to regard his songs as ever-changing living things that don't necessarily, on any given night, have to sound anything like they originally did on record. This is why his live albums are rarely dull and why this record reminds me an awful lot of Dylan's incredible Rolling Thunder tour recordings.
The set features songs from throughout Oldham's career as well as a couple of traditional numbers. Highlights include an epic version of 'Cursed Sleep' and a harmony rich reading of 'Ain't You Wealthy, Ain't You Wise'. A take on the traditional Irish folk ballad 'Molly Bawn' steals the show though, building from a waltz into a frenzied finish, it is both haunting and rousing and like nothing else you've heard on a Bonnie 'Prince' Billy album before.
The best live albums always make you wish you had been at the gig and this one does. Its even worse for me because I was in Edinburgh about a week after the show took place! This serves as a wonderful document of the music Oldham and his guests were making on this particular night. He sounds so full of energy and enjoyment from performing the songs in this way, but it wouldn't surprise me if his next gig after this one was a solo acoustic performance. He is one of the great talents in music today and this is an innovative and enjoyable exploration of some of his songs.
8.3
['Is It The Sea' is out in October on Domino on cd/2LP]
Saturday, 24 May 2008
Bonnie Prince Billy 'Lie Down In The Light'
Will Oldham's new record, his fifth album of original songs as Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, has appeared without much fanfare or promotion. That's strange as it is the follow-up to 2006's exceptional 'The Letting Go' which was recorded in Iceland, featured some gorgeous strings and was possibly a career highlight.
On 'Lie Down In The Light' Oldham continues his recent trend of introducing a new singing partner on each album, this time Ashley Webber sings duets and harmonies with this. This is a much lighter record than 'The Letting Go', sounding more like a mix of the breezy 'Ease Down The Road' and 'Ask Forgiveness' the covers EP Oldham released last year.
Opener 'Easy Does It' is positively jaunty with a simple and joyful lyric to match. This tone continues for much of the record, with a prevailing feeling of confidence and comfort. Consequently the highlights are the two duets as they add an edge and a scope that is absent elsewhere. In particular, 'You Want That Picture' is wonderful, Webber's voice fitting in perfectly and an additional electric guitar make this, by some distance, the most powerful song on the album.
More duets with Webber would have been welcome, but she is mainly used for harmonies. This is a confident, assured record with some nice moments but it doesn't come close to reaching the heights of 'The Letting Go'.
7.5
On 'Lie Down In The Light' Oldham continues his recent trend of introducing a new singing partner on each album, this time Ashley Webber sings duets and harmonies with this. This is a much lighter record than 'The Letting Go', sounding more like a mix of the breezy 'Ease Down The Road' and 'Ask Forgiveness' the covers EP Oldham released last year.
Opener 'Easy Does It' is positively jaunty with a simple and joyful lyric to match. This tone continues for much of the record, with a prevailing feeling of confidence and comfort. Consequently the highlights are the two duets as they add an edge and a scope that is absent elsewhere. In particular, 'You Want That Picture' is wonderful, Webber's voice fitting in perfectly and an additional electric guitar make this, by some distance, the most powerful song on the album.
More duets with Webber would have been welcome, but she is mainly used for harmonies. This is a confident, assured record with some nice moments but it doesn't come close to reaching the heights of 'The Letting Go'.
7.5
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
