Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Music news Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy sounds hauntingly happy on Beware
Posted by Chad Radford @ChadRad on Tue, May 26, 2009 at 12:30 PM
Despite the foreboding title and bleak black and white cover art — a curious nod to the first Danzig album and Neil Young's Tonight's the Night — Bonnie "Prince" Billy's Beware is an inviting entry into Will Oldham's haunting repertoire.
But a closer look reveals the layers of dark imagery hiding inside some of Oldham's most gorgeous, complex songs about the nature of love, happiness and existential rumination. Each song serves a cautionary tale, arriving as a Trojan horse that charms with a comfortable glow before opening up to expose its damaged character. The bucolic, acoustic strum and declaration — "I want to be your only friend" — that opens the album on "Beware Your Only Friend" suggests something more destructive than the naïve affections evoked by Oldham's words and sweet voice.
Continue reading "Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy sounds hauntingly happy on Beware"
(Photo by Adm. Wiley Balls)
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