Will Oldham is one of the great mavericks and most mysterious figures in the American music scene. He clearly hates the idea of fame, and loathes the idea of being interviewed, yet he has become famous anyway, thanks to his intense, quiet and often bleak songs, with their echoes of American roots music mixed with less expected influences that make it hard for him to be easily categorised as part of the lo-fi or alt country scenes. His skill as a songwriter is reflected in his cult following among fellow musicians. He has worked with the likes of PJ Harvey and Tortoise, can count Nick Cave among his fans, and was even recognised by Johnny Cash, who recorded Oldham's bleak I See a Darkness towards the end of his career.
This hatred of fame has led Oldham to use a series of pseudonyms. He has recorded as Palace, Palace Music, Palace Songs, and - most recently - as Bonnie "Prince" Billy, apparently because he likes mixing the idea of the wild west's Billy the Kid with the reference to Bonnie Prince Charlie. Country and Celtic themes certainly coexist in his intriguing new album, recorded in Reykjavic with producer Valgier Sigurdsson (of Björk fame), and remarkable as much for the musical settings as for the gently emotional or eerie songs.
At its best, this is a bravely compelling set, with several tracks that demand repeated listening. There are times when Oldham sounds as if he could fit easily into the British nu-folk scene, though his moody and introspective guitar ballads are often transformed through the delicate use of a string quartet, with flugelhorn or electric piano matched alongside the violins, viola and cello. Then there are the occasional bursts of folk-rock electric guitar, or echoes of blues or country themes that provide a sudden reminder of his Kentucky roots. And then there's the final, perhaps most important, addition to his musical lineup, the delicate vocal work from Dawn McCarthy of Faun Fables, who either echoes his gently intense, introspective vocals in a higher octave, or adds her own atmospheric embellishments, as on the sparse title track, which features just acoustic guitar and the two voices, and has the sturdy, gently chilling appeal of a great folk song.
Elsewhere, it's McCarthy's voice that helps transform No Bad News, yet another unsettling song that sounds as if it has been around for decades, and the bravely delicate and emotional Love Comes to Me, in which Sigurdsson makes full use of first the string quartet and then the electric guitar. Left to himself, Oldham produces more jaunty ragtime acoustic guitar work on Cold and Wet. Even when his melodies become predictable, the lyrics remain edgy and intriguing.
