Bonnie "Prince" Billy - The Letting Go
The pixelating world finds no treasures in the soil. Existence is merely a play of smoke and mirrors inside these silicon motherboard highways. I am not speaking to you. I am not writing script. These are pixels. 0's and 1's. Will Oldham (aka Bonnie "Prince" Billy) was born from the dirt - among a field of crops. Daytrotter called him "So Unquestionably Human That He's Inhuman, Thereby Making Him Mystical And Perfect For Every One Of Our Funeral Services," which summed it up perfectly. There is no longer a place for people of this world - they have become inhuman.If all these things are the case, then thank God for Bonnie "Prince" Billy, because the virtual world just isn't cutting it. The experience of listening to I See a Darkness on vinyl is like no other. The spare, intimate vinyl pops that accompany Will's brooding voice, leave me transfixed on the floor every time. Now I listen to The Letting Go on my laptop, and I am astonished at how he is able to transform even this cold and distant medium into a vulnerable space.
With The Letting Go, BPB stays consistent with organic themes of love and loss; however, the albums production is more filled in and smoothed out than any prior release. In the same vein as Iron and Wine's Woman King, this more conventional production does nothing to damper the songwriting. The heavy addition of strings to the LP initially worried me, but it proved a perfect fit. The Letting Go is a much softer and lighter venture for Will, which seems connected to its more collective approach (the album was recorded in Iceland with Valgeir Sigurðsson). Although I might need to dig into Bonnie "Prince" Billy's back catalog for the solo haunts, this latest addition to the discography is Will's best release in several years.[mp3] Bonnie Prince Billy - The Seedling (Day Trotter)
[mp3] Bonnie Prince Billy - The Seedling
[mp3] Bonnie Prince Billy - Love Comes to Me
LA dates:
10/22/06 McCabes Guitar Shop (Santa Monica)
10/24 The Smell
10/25 Malibu Performing Arts Center
posted by BWH999 at 12:26 PM
4 Comments:
Have I mentioned lately how much I genuinely love your site gents. Im soo greatful to have blogger like you in LA!!! Its like having brothers!
Keep up all the awesome work
Awwww shucks. Thanks JAX, glad to be considered part of the "family."
Wow. Especially on the Seedling - that pretty much blew me away. Folks have been telling me for a while that I really must check out Bonnie Prince Billy, but I've been too lazy or something.
SO thanks for this (teach me not to listen to my friends)
i'll probably be at the McCabe's show
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