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| Track list: 1. Beware Your Only Friend 2. You Can't Hurt Me Now 3. My Life's Work 4. Death Final 5. Heart's Arms 6. You Don't Love Me 7. You Are Lost 8. I Won't Ask Again 9. I Don't Belong To Anyone 10. There Is Something I Have To Say 11. I Am Goodbye 12. Without Work, You Have Nothing 13. Afraid Ain't Me Running time: 45 minutes Released: 2009 |
I have a couple of albums from Bonnie 'Prince' Billy. I am not sure what drove me to pick them up or what I made of them when I did, but it is probably connected to a brief yearning for Americana. This is more discovery than anything else, then, for I cannot have listened to many of these tracks very often.
It opens with a really appealing guitar, a fairly simple loop but it immediately taps into my buoyant morning mood. I get older today and am not working, a lazy day of listening to the cricket and writing up my last RPG session ahead of me and I am squeezing this in first thing. The song uses a harmony nicely, the combination of sounds, voices and words is slightly messy but in a compelling way that invites listening, rather than the cacophonous sense that was evident on The Beta Band. It is a much stronger, brasher start than I was expecting, as my preconception was that Bonnie 'Prince' Billy was all fairly stripped back.
More like You Can't Hurt Me Now, in fact. A somewhat trembling voice, and a sparse construction echoing the wide open spaces and big sky landscapes that typify Americana. I could imagine this refrain drifting over ranch-land in the days of the frontier. It could be soundtrack to set the scene for a game of Dogs in the Vineyard. Hard to say where my appreciation for this drifting, stylised sound came from. I am pretty sure that my first conscious exposure to "modern" Americana was Willard Grant Conspiracy but I have no clue how I stumbled across them. Anyhow, from there LastFM came into play and threw me up some other suggestions. Actually, thinking about it, I might have that the wrong way around; it may have been LastFM throwing up suggestions based on Grand Drive.
That's not important anyway. What is more important is that like an idiot I forgot to switch WMP off shuffle so actually the listen has not been in running order, aside Beware Your Only Friend. Bugger. I don't have time to reset and restart, so I am going to have to continue. I am relatively sure that a) I will still only get each track once (repeat is not on) and b) that I am unlikely to dislike anything here enough to want it out, and even if I do I can respond to that immediate dislike.
What gives me that feeling? Well for a start I am in a good mood and approaching the listen in relaxed fashion which helps, but more pertinently everything I have heard thus far - about a third through by time - has been interesting. There is a discordance in some of it, but it is very controlled and deliberate, adding an edge but held in check to make it an interesting one - this applies most consistently to the vocal harmonies between Will Oldham (the man behind the moniker) and his backing singers, but I think I hear some in the jangling guitar vs. the structural strings too.
OK, so shuffle is no good. I have a repeat. It has occurred to me that I can use LastFM to work out what I have and haven't heard though. That second paragraph refers to Without Work, You Have Nothing, by the by - though it is fair to say You Can't Hurt Me Now also conforms to the preconceptions I had of the artist now that I am directing this playthrough. The only piece that does not, perhaps, is the xylophone, which feels out of place amongst the gently swaying countrified plod. Plod - its not a positive word really is it? I think it fits here - the pace is slow to warrant it - but without the dragging, uninteresting connotations. Somehow it plods positively.
My Life's Work seems to hybrid the brasher sounds, largely delivered by the lead guitar with the general pleasantry and reservations of the album as a whole. It forms a compelling track of ups and downs, and then throws a curveball by introducing a mouth organ or other blown instrument in the more orchestrated sections - an element that has been missing to this point, or at least had passed me by. I am finding that I prefer the songs that have a bit more depth of sound to them - contrasting the typical trappings of Americana with a richer, louder centre - but still enjoying the more standard fare.
Its funny, I have a feeling that on a general library-wide shuffle then if I was at the keys I probably wouldn't let any of these tracks get started before hitting the skip. I am beginning to suspect that is a massive mistake. There is something here for any mood. As you might expect, the sparser tracks would suit quieter moods better, but there is some proper joy here too. You Don't Love Me brings a trumpet in for another new sound and this really works for me - I have been a sucker for a well used trumpet since forever.
Two tracks left to go. I am still enjoying the music, but with an eye on the clock I am willing it to end before it reasonably can as I want to get the radio on and bring up TMS. I am forgoing the first 5 minutes of build up to the 4th Ashes test for this - no play, you understand. I wouldn't have countenanced that. I Won't Ask Again is very different from the rest of the songs here. Many of the structures are similar but the overall effect has a completely different tone, in a way that I wish I could articulate, but find myself failing to.
I skip to the end now, the last track being the only one unplayed following the shuffle mix-up. It again has a different tone, a bit darker without being oppressive in the verse, bright in the chorus. A flute or similar soaring over the general tumult. It is a different sort of big sky music - this is not drifting out over open plains but appealing to the heavens in a concentrated burst and would not be out of place on a film soundtrack somehow. I think Afraid Ain't Me is probably my second favourite track here after the opener which really set the tone for this listen by breaking my expectations first up.
I'm happy about this one, finally validating a purchase of several years back. I doubt I will run out and buy more of Oldham's work - unless I am similarly impressed by Lie Down in the Light - but it is a nice little nugget to have on the shelf.
It opens with a really appealing guitar, a fairly simple loop but it immediately taps into my buoyant morning mood. I get older today and am not working, a lazy day of listening to the cricket and writing up my last RPG session ahead of me and I am squeezing this in first thing. The song uses a harmony nicely, the combination of sounds, voices and words is slightly messy but in a compelling way that invites listening, rather than the cacophonous sense that was evident on The Beta Band. It is a much stronger, brasher start than I was expecting, as my preconception was that Bonnie 'Prince' Billy was all fairly stripped back.
More like You Can't Hurt Me Now, in fact. A somewhat trembling voice, and a sparse construction echoing the wide open spaces and big sky landscapes that typify Americana. I could imagine this refrain drifting over ranch-land in the days of the frontier. It could be soundtrack to set the scene for a game of Dogs in the Vineyard. Hard to say where my appreciation for this drifting, stylised sound came from. I am pretty sure that my first conscious exposure to "modern" Americana was Willard Grant Conspiracy but I have no clue how I stumbled across them. Anyhow, from there LastFM came into play and threw me up some other suggestions. Actually, thinking about it, I might have that the wrong way around; it may have been LastFM throwing up suggestions based on Grand Drive.
That's not important anyway. What is more important is that like an idiot I forgot to switch WMP off shuffle so actually the listen has not been in running order, aside Beware Your Only Friend. Bugger. I don't have time to reset and restart, so I am going to have to continue. I am relatively sure that a) I will still only get each track once (repeat is not on) and b) that I am unlikely to dislike anything here enough to want it out, and even if I do I can respond to that immediate dislike.
What gives me that feeling? Well for a start I am in a good mood and approaching the listen in relaxed fashion which helps, but more pertinently everything I have heard thus far - about a third through by time - has been interesting. There is a discordance in some of it, but it is very controlled and deliberate, adding an edge but held in check to make it an interesting one - this applies most consistently to the vocal harmonies between Will Oldham (the man behind the moniker) and his backing singers, but I think I hear some in the jangling guitar vs. the structural strings too.
OK, so shuffle is no good. I have a repeat. It has occurred to me that I can use LastFM to work out what I have and haven't heard though. That second paragraph refers to Without Work, You Have Nothing, by the by - though it is fair to say You Can't Hurt Me Now also conforms to the preconceptions I had of the artist now that I am directing this playthrough. The only piece that does not, perhaps, is the xylophone, which feels out of place amongst the gently swaying countrified plod. Plod - its not a positive word really is it? I think it fits here - the pace is slow to warrant it - but without the dragging, uninteresting connotations. Somehow it plods positively.
My Life's Work seems to hybrid the brasher sounds, largely delivered by the lead guitar with the general pleasantry and reservations of the album as a whole. It forms a compelling track of ups and downs, and then throws a curveball by introducing a mouth organ or other blown instrument in the more orchestrated sections - an element that has been missing to this point, or at least had passed me by. I am finding that I prefer the songs that have a bit more depth of sound to them - contrasting the typical trappings of Americana with a richer, louder centre - but still enjoying the more standard fare.
Its funny, I have a feeling that on a general library-wide shuffle then if I was at the keys I probably wouldn't let any of these tracks get started before hitting the skip. I am beginning to suspect that is a massive mistake. There is something here for any mood. As you might expect, the sparser tracks would suit quieter moods better, but there is some proper joy here too. You Don't Love Me brings a trumpet in for another new sound and this really works for me - I have been a sucker for a well used trumpet since forever.
Two tracks left to go. I am still enjoying the music, but with an eye on the clock I am willing it to end before it reasonably can as I want to get the radio on and bring up TMS. I am forgoing the first 5 minutes of build up to the 4th Ashes test for this - no play, you understand. I wouldn't have countenanced that. I Won't Ask Again is very different from the rest of the songs here. Many of the structures are similar but the overall effect has a completely different tone, in a way that I wish I could articulate, but find myself failing to.
I skip to the end now, the last track being the only one unplayed following the shuffle mix-up. It again has a different tone, a bit darker without being oppressive in the verse, bright in the chorus. A flute or similar soaring over the general tumult. It is a different sort of big sky music - this is not drifting out over open plains but appealing to the heavens in a concentrated burst and would not be out of place on a film soundtrack somehow. I think Afraid Ain't Me is probably my second favourite track here after the opener which really set the tone for this listen by breaking my expectations first up.
I'm happy about this one, finally validating a purchase of several years back. I doubt I will run out and buy more of Oldham's work - unless I am similarly impressed by Lie Down in the Light - but it is a nice little nugget to have on the shelf.
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