Wolfroy Goes To Town

Having made such distinctively American-vibed records throughout his recording career, whether it be with the various iterations of Palace or under his own name, Will Oldham's old-timey songwriting style could, in less capable hands, slip into a kind of caricature. On his 2011 record under the moniker of Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Oldham offers up his most compelling batch of songs since 2006's The Letting Go. This is Oldham's most minimal record in years, with most songs highlighting Oldham's voice with only spare accompaniment. "New Tibet" and "No Match" rank among Oldham's loveliest work, while "Quail and Dumplings" and "We Are Unhappy" showcase his weird knack for spinning old-fashioned stories and making them sound somehow prescient. Like Oldham's best records, Wolfroy Goes To Town has a quality of effortlessness about it that makes it easy at first to take for granted how fantastic these songs really are.