Description
Perfectly pitched charmer with a concerned core; Louisville locals assist.
“Change is a constant and so I am constantly changing,” sings Will Oldham on the first track of his new album. However securely coupled to country, folk and Southern Americana his music may be, Oldham, who adopted the Bonnie “Prince” Billy alias in 1998, is a modernist.
For Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You, he gathered together a bunch of local Louisville musicians for an in-the-room set that took around six weeks to record and must have been a joy after the pandemic-imposed remoteness of recent years. Initial sessions were recorded with bass and drums but those takes were scrapped, with the result that the songs have a more traditional feel (it may be worth remembering that drums are rare in Appalachian music). At their core is the musical heritage of Oldham’s home state and by extension there is inspirations & communion with the usual crew of Cohen, Cash, Prine and David Berman, plus some pleasingly out-of-context flourishes.
It’s an intimate set suffused with love, understanding and skittish dark humour. Though mortality and Earth’s devastation cast an apocalyptic shadow, Oldham is never morbid – his singular lyricism lightens the philosophical load and sweet melodies abound.
