Will Oldham has made music under a variety of names but, invariably, there's something magical about whatever he produces, under whatever name he chooses to use. His newest album, released as Bonnie "Prince" Billy, is called I Made a Place and it's out on Drag City tomorrow. The record veers from contemplative material to rather jaunty stuff, and running through the tunes remains Oldham's integrity as a performer.
"Dream Awhile" is haunting and elegiac, while "Look Backward On Your Future, Look Forward To Your Past" is spry but serious. Will Oldham makes this material feel timeless, even as he puts a uniquely modern spin on things. And while he owes much to Dylan, Cash, and others, Oldham manages to make a song like "You Know the One" feel entirely outside any obvious comparison point. Sure, some of this is folk-y, as most Oldham projects are, but the lively melodies here suggest that Will's found a way to conquer his demons, or a need to convey a more direct kind of emotion as a performer.
And while lots of I Made a Place feels so effortlessly enjoyable, some of the cuts, like "The Devi's Throat" with its near-zydeco hook, and "Squid Eye" with its silly and straightforward lyrics, seem the product of Will Oldham perhaps challenging himself to simplify his riffs while burnishing the edges of the material with a vigorous musicality. Still, for whatever (perhaps) off-putting lightness seems to be flourishing here on I Made a Place, there is, as always, something serious and sad about Will Oldham and his music. This album invigorates but it also quietly slips into the soul with a real, and welcomed gravity.
I Made a Place is out on Drag City tomorrow.
[Photo: Christian Hansen]