Blind Date Party

Its hard to believe that during their decades-long careers, Bill Callahan and Bonnie "Prince" Billys Will Oldham didnt collaborate on a full-length until 2022s Blind Date Party. Both Oldham and Callahan excel at combining folk, country, and rock in timeless and fresh ways, and their longtime label Drag City is known for how its artists cross-pollinate each others work. Blind Date Partys origins stretch back to a tour Callahan and Oldham had planned with another labelmate, Silver Jews and Purple Mountains frontman David Berman, before his untimely passing in 2019. Recorded remotely during the COVID-19 global pandemic, this project continues that feeling of friends uniting to celebrate music and each other as Oldham and Callahan cover songs from all over with the help of other Drag City artists. Time has shaped their voices fascinatingly, adding comforting heft to Callahans baritone and resilience to Oldhams warbly tenor. The former lends some warmth to the wry elegance of Steely Dans "Deacon Blues," while the latter adds a mystical melody to Leonard Cohens "The Night of Santiago," a spoken-word piece from his final album, Thanks for the Dance. When they join their voices, they complement each other perfectly, whether on their hymnal version of Cat Stevens "Blackness of the Night" with Azita or the blissful harmonies on their version of Air Supplys "Lost in Love." Callahan and Oldhams collaborators are just as distinctive. The turbulent violin and guitar on this rendition of Robert Wyatts "Sea Song" are the unmistakable work of Mick Turner, and George Xylouris gives Lou Reeds "Rooftop Garden" a fittingly lush acoustic makeover. Blind Date Partys mix of contributors and song selections remains refreshingly unpredictable from start to finish, even when the results sound similar to Oldhams and Callahans own work (with the help of Alasdair Roberts, Dave Richs "Ive Made Up My Mind" could pass for a Palace song, and the gorgeous pedal steel on Jerry Jeff Walkers "Night Riders Lament" evokes Smogs Red Apple Falls). The album is especially delightful when everyone involved really shakes things up: The High Llamas Sean OHagan helps Bill and Billy transform Billie Eilishs "Wish You Were Gay" into bubbly space-age pop, Ty Segalls blobby synths turn Johnnie Friersons "Miracles" into appealingly off-kilter soul, and Cooper Crain reggae-fies Iggy Pops "I Want to Go to the Beach." Callahans and Oldhams radical reworkings of each others songs are also among Blind Dates highlights. With the help of Six Organs of Admittance, Callahan reimagines "Arise Therefore" into something resembling his own "Justice Aversion," and Dead Rider and Oldham revamp "Our Anniversary" into a towering psych-rock epic. This sprawling collection is packed with songs, and a lot of love as well. Nowhere is this more apparent than on the moving rendition of Silver Jews "The Wild Kindness," which features Bermans widow, Cassie, among its choir of voices. Moments like this make Blind Date Party a satisfying tribute to Drag Citys legacy of friends old and new playing music together. ~ Heather Phares