Wading in Further...

So after everyone's enthusiastic recommendations during the Best of 2008 days, I finally picked up Bonnie "Prince" Billy's Lay Down in the Light, and it's gorgeous. I can't stop listening to it. So thanks.

It's actually my first Will Oldham purchase. Just hadn't gotten around to it before this. So my question is, where to next? Keep in mind I'm not that interested in particularly tuneless lo-fi mumbly stuff (so I'm probably looking more at B"P"B and not Palace stuff right?). How is the new one?

Lie Down in the Light

I'm pleased to say that I'm really loving the new Bonnie "Prince" Billy album, Lie Down in the Light. I counted myself a pretty big fan of his awhile back (especially back when I was still that guy having religious experiences at Jay Farrar concerts), but in recent years I'd started to grow pretty bored with the predictability and dourness of all his soft, pretty, sad songs. But in some ways this new album is a striking turn away from many of his old patterns: for one thing, it's the rare Will Oldham (the man behind the Billy moniker) album that I could describe overall as "not at all a downer". It's still soft and pretty, and still benefits from many repeat listenings, but it's also shockingly happy. I might even define a couple of the themes of this album as "contentment" and possibly "joy".

And of course, it's joy with a few bizarre Will Oldham style twists thrown in. So far I've been especially fascinated by "So Everybody", which is a song that somehow makes an act of public oral sex sound like the highest expression of love and spiritual contentment. I'm not kidding, give it a listen. It won't stream (hasn't everyone been having problems with that recently?) but here's a download link.
So Everyone