BEWARE- The Reality
Ok. So there were some wild Nostradamus-like guesses ventured against Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy’s newest record, Beware. And that’s not a bad thing. Trying to keep up with the prolific steps of Mr. Prince is something of an exercise in folk-futility. Now that the ears have had time to digest (burp), I am more able to give a decent shake at the record.
First off, I was right about that Neil Young comparison. The album art is not the only similarity- the crooning swells on Beware’s sturdier tracks reminds me of some of the better moments of Young and Co. The scuzzy electric guitar sounds the much like a Crazy Horse inspired moment. BPB-0; C-1.
Round Two got a little bloody. Where I was expecting macabre-rock, Oldham fills with lighter 70’s country sounds. Gee, thanks for the misleading album art and morose song titles, Bonny. The song content shares more in common with Lie Down In the Light than it does with I See A Darkness. And I’m okay with that- it’s just a little unexpected. Suckerpunched. BPB-1; C-1.
My last prediction is a bit of a hard one to prove at the moment. Where I thought this may spell the end for this particular dimension of Oldham, it seem there is much more to give. Especially with all of the other mini-releases, including a promising EP with Cheyenne Mize, a song on the Louisville is For Lovers compilation, a shared 7″ single with Young Widows, it looks like the moniker might be sticking around. However, with the host of other projects that Oldham has a hand in (Wendy and Lucy, Trapped In the Closet, various voices lent to Adult Swim, etc.), it’s hard to see where his time might go. It’s going to be a while until we know the results.
Having all of that said, I am plenty digging this record.
