Thoughts on the newest from our man Will Oldham

That I, of all people, have waited this long to get the new Bonnie "Prince" Billy, The Letting Go is surprising. (I buy this guy's rather superfluous live albums, after all.) However, it is finally mine, all mine, and seeing as how there are at least two people on this blog who I know care about this, well, lemme lay it all out for ya.

This is Oldham's third great album qua album (the first being Viva Last Blues, the second being Superwolf). Previously he had great albums qua "universe-of-its-own singles collection" (Lost Blues, which I will always swear by), and great albums qua "freaky atmospheric pieces" (Days in the Wake, I See A Darkness). Then there are the "very good" albums, mostly consisting of what I would call the "middle period" (Joya, Ease Down the Road, Master and Everyone), and the "good" albums (Hope, Arise Therefore, Guarapero, There is No-One What Will Take Care of You). Admittedly I have not heard everything put out by this man, but I can safely say the remaining stuff is mostly weird side projects (did anyone hear the Tortoise record? Now, for the superfans who pass that test, did anyone like it?) This isn't a permanent canon, either; sometimes I really have a hankering for Joya, sometimes Hope hits the spot.

Now that my little nerdboy discography is out of the way, we can get to this record. I say it's a great "album album" for several reasons: first of all, it's the best produced album he's done (unless you count the country polish of the Sings Greatest Palace Music record, which shall not be spoken of again). Second, there are no bizarre distractions as there are on other BPB albums. So, no creaky voice, no throwaway stoned songs, etc. This might disappoint some people, because along with that stuff goes a lot of the offhand humor and goofy wordplay (sadly, no "horny horns" or "spank you mercilessly"s this time around, but we do get something about "your inner croco shout," whatever the hell that is). There's also not too many creepy sexual bits. So--no sex, no horny horns, no voice cracking--is this really a Will Oldham album?

Well, yes, because it's alternatively beautiful songs and well-written song songs. This is what I've really been a fan of all along (so, I have a soft spot for "epic" sing-alongs like "Horses," "New Partner," "O Let it Be," "Agnes Queen of Sorrow," etc). For the former, beautiful type, see "Love Comes to Me," "Strange Form of Life," "Lay and Love," "Then the Letting Go." For the latter, "Cursed Sleep" is really all you need, it is that awesome. There's plenty of overlap between the two types, too. Plus, he's got this woman singing with him, Dawn McCarthy, who records under the name "Faun Fables." Their harmonizing is excellent; Austin, I suspect you will especially like this part. I never thought Oldham was much of a harmonizer, but after the Superwolf record and seeing him perform those songs with Matt Sweeney, I now know better. That boy good. There are a couple of songs I don't really care for in the middle of the album, but they're interesting and well done nonetheless. The bottom line is, you will sing these tunes, you will think about these words, you will certainly want to lay in bed with someone and listen. Now, go forth ye and line Will Oldham's pockets with your CD money!