Bonnie Prince Billy - Cursed Sleep
[Domino]

Bonnie Prince Billy is probably the most well known alias that song writer Will Oldham has traded under. This is the first single from his latest release under the Bonnie Prince Billy moniker, ‘Then The Letting Go’. As an artist Oldham seems little concerned with trends and fads occurring in the wider world, he’s happy to peddle his own brand of gothic country and folk, bringing life to his dark tales with distinctively arcane language and a winning way with a melody.

‘Cursed Sleep’ bears all the hallmarks of a man at work with such assurance in his own Midas touch he is free to follow his muse without fear or constraints. There are none of the lo-fi production values heard on previous Oldham releases, as the opening bars of crystal clear acoustic guitar, piano and sweeping strings give way to the smokey lead vocals, while female backing vocals add a grand emotional scope to the choruses. It’s a devilishly confident song, a soulful country offering that makes no excuses for its finessed production.

Will Oldham is not a man to be tied down to one sound though and the second track, ‘The Signifying Wolf’ takes an entirely different tack. The murky production works perfectly on this slightly unnerving, voodoo-swamp blues, as Oldham intones shaman like over primitive percussion and howling backing vocals. The final track on the single is ‘God’s Small Song’ which with its minimal instrumentation delicately lurches and creaks to and fro before mysteriously vanishing back into the mists from whence it came.

This is an intriguing insight into Oldham’s latest release that will doubtlessly whet the appetite of his many admirers. He’s a singular artist whose records are eagerly awaited and rightly so, he hasn’t disappointed yet, let’s hope that ‘Then The Letting Go’ continues in the same vein.