Bonnie 'Prince' Billy Letting Go CD

Personnel: Will Oldham (vocals, guitar); Dawn McCarthy (vocals); Emmett Kelly (guitar); Una Sveinbjarnardottir , Greta Gudnadóttir (violin); Thórunn Osk Marinósdóttir (viola); Hrafnkell Orri Egilsson (cello); Eirikur Orri Olafsson (flugelhorn); Paul Oldham (bass guitar); Jim White (drums).
On one hand, Will Oldham (a.k.a. Bonnie "Prince" Billy) seems to have journeyed a long way from his recordings with Palace Music in the 1990s--which featured a ragged, lo-fi/indie take on backwoods, old-timey American folk--to the comparatively clean, thoughtful, and mature sound of 2006's THE LETTING GO. On the other hand, Oldham's course has remained true in its use of a spare, even stark, singer-songwriter mode to convey complex feelings and observations rendered through his creaky voice and literate, associative lyrics.
Like 2003's MASTER AND EVERYONE, THE LETTING GO is a quiet, introspective record that examines the human heart, but the songs here equal or better those on its excellent predecessor. Oldham's insight into the politics of self and relationships is unflinching, and his wordplay--which balances surreal poetry with heartbreaking confessionals--is at its peak. Sonically, THE LETTING GO is expansive, adding strings, subtle percussion, and ambient effects that enhance but never crowd the songs. Harmony vocalist Dawn McCarthy contributes gorgeous textures to the mix of blues, country, folk, and minstrel-like elements, and all of it makes a persuasive case that Oldham has grown into an artist of striking vision and emotional power.
Will Oldham has usually preached the gospel of less-is-more, but after an own-covers record that emanated from the belly of Nashville itself (Bonnie Prince Billy Sings Greatest Palace Songs), followed by a collaboration with guitarist Matt Sweeney (Superwolf) and a churning live record (Summer in the Southeast), his work began to seem positively indulgent. The Letting Go is not quite as far a stretch, but it is yet another intriguing departure. Granted, its approach would strike most bands as skeletal, but compared to his last solo album of originals, 2003's Master and Everyone, it sounds downright gaudy. It was recorded in Iceland with a producer, Valgeir Sigurosson, who gets more out of Oldham's voice and songs than has ever been heard on record. Oldham's harmony companion, Dawn McCarthy from Faun Fables, takes a much larger role than her predecessor on Master and Everyone, and her credit for harmony arrangements tells you everything you need to know about how important she is to the success of this album. Oldham's songwriting is breathtaking, close to the best of his career, although little changed from the norm -- his surreal, fatalistic take on Americana Gothic. "Cursed Sleep" is especially wonderful, with a string arrangement that harks back to Nick Drake's "Way to Blue," haunted vocals from McCarthy the chanteuse far in the background, and a set of lyrics that build up to a tragic peak ("Cursed love is never ended, cursed eyes are never closing, cursed arms are never closing, cursed children never rising, cursed me never despising"). To the other extreme is "Cold & Wet," a downright jaunty (despite the lyrics), fingerpicked blues of the type that Mississippi John Hurt would have recorded for Vanguard in the mid-'60s, and percussion from Dirty Three drummer Jim White that could be confused with electric drums or the worst recorded organic drum set ever heard. Truth to tell, since the quality of Oldham's songwriting has rarely wavered, the excellent arrangements and McCarthy's contributions make The Letting Go the best of his career to this point. ~ John BushSpin (p.94) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[The songs] flirt with familiar forms -- from straight-up blues to achy, winsome country ballads....Proving that well-worn ingredients often yield novel and beautiful results."
Entertainment Weekly (p.95) - "Here he returns to more familiar territory, strumming spare elegies on acoustic guitar. His warmth is complemented by chilly accents..." -- Grade: B+
Uncut (p.102) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he most immediately striking thing is the effect of the string arrangements, which add an extra layer of haunting mystery."
The Wire (p.49) - "Prince Billy is more stylistically adventurous than usual here....Even Oldham's most romantic songs are flavoured with a carnal aftertaste. THE LETTING GO is singed with intimacy."
CMJ (p.47) - "The orchestral backings nicely fill the sparse acoustic tunes, and Dawn McCarthy's vocals blend well with Oldham's."
Dirty Linen (p.85) - "The warbling vocals have a poignant, vulnerable quality while much of the music sounds eerily haunting."
No Depression (p.102) - "[T]here's a disarmingly endearing sense that he's found great sweetness in it all."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.102) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[With] expansive arrangements and glowing melodies....Wherever it ultimately sits in the Oldham canon, THE LETTING GO -- introspective, yet as tender and universal as a lover's embrace -- is a fine addition."