Bonnie Prince Billy - The Letting Go
[Domino]

For those of you who don’t already know, Will Oldham is the chameleon prince of Americana, an artist of real stature at a time when an artist calling themselves ‘alt. country’ seems to be enough to earn them plaudits without necessarily the talent to back them up. No such accusation can be levelled at Oldham, as under a number of different guises he has created a body of work that is never less than arresting.

There has always been a dark heart at the core of Oldham’s lyrics, which continues here, seemingly at odds with the warm glow and richness of the musical backdrop and the tenderness with which the vocals are delivered. To quote John Cale, Oldham has mastered ‘...the nicest ways of saying something ugly’ which he again exemplifies on The Letting Go as he weaves his tales over swooning strings, acoustic guitar, placid percussion and female backing vocals.

Thus under the slightly polished veneer of the lead single Cursed Sleep, lurks a tale of doomed love, and as the strings swoop towards the songs finale the female vocals repeat the refrain ‘Cursed Love’ as a small reminder that the darkness never lurks far from the surface. This is followed by the arcane folk of ‘No Bad News’ with female vocals reminiscent of Sandy Denny and shuffling percussion its riddle like lyrics seem to be telling another dark fable, with the ominous insinuation of the chorus ‘something bad happens and a lot of people go’, but then as the song heads towards it’s climax, Oldham seems to be offering redemption in the lines ‘Thank you for not letting go of me, when I let go of you’.

Redemption is a theme that is continued on ‘Big Friday’ probably the albums most optimistic moment, it’s a fragile ballad on which Oldham sounds almost contented, comprising a series of soft focus reminiscences about a lover, it opens with the hopeful words ‘You saved me from melting baby’.

This album delivers exactly what you’d expect from a man who has set such high standards for himself, it’s rich and varied both musically and lyrically, as Oldham conjures shades of light and dark in equal measure in a compelling juxtaposition.