Songs of Love and Horror

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2018 marked the 25th anniversary of Will Oldham's first release as Palace Brothers, the initial salvo in what has been a prolific and truly eclectic body of work, much of it released under the handle Bonnie "Prince" Billy. To honor the occasion, Oldham published a book, Songs of Love and Horror, that featured lyrics to over 200 of his songs, as well as annotations from the tunesmith. As a companion to the book, Oldham also released an album called Songs of Love and Horror, in which he performed spare, solo acoustic versions of 11 songs from his back catalog, as well as a cover of Richard & Linda Thompson's "Strange Affair." In some respects, this album feels a bit redundant, since Oldham has recorded all of these songs before (except for the Thompson cover, of course), but if this doesn't add anything in the way of new material to Oldham's catalog, if you want evidence of how he's matured as a vocalist since his earliest days, this is well worth a listen. Oldham often sounded mannered on his earlier work, as he was trying to inhabit the persona he fashioned on his Palace releases, but these interpretations are stripped of affect, and the minimal accompaniment allows one to hear every whispered, quiet moment of his performances in the studio. Oldham is in unusually strong form on Songs of Love and Horror; his control of his instrument is more evident than it has ever been in his days as a recording artist, and his phrasing is straightforward but with a dramatic flair that only adds to the emotional gravity of "I See a Darkness," "Ohio River Boat Song," and "So Far and Here We Are," as well as adding a greater compassion to "Only Someone Running," and even bringing a warm, nostalgic tone to "Party with Marty (Abstract Blues)." Songs of Love and Horror is hardly the only album that shows just how fine a singer Oldham can be when he wants, but it is an admirably strong effort that should please fans and intrigue dabblers. ~ Mark Deming