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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Will Oldham, the artist formerly known as Palace, has never been concerned with creating pop music. Oldham's forte, murder ballads, antispirituals, dead-sea chanteys, and lost-love songs, has always been "difficult," forcing the listener to confront some rather unseemly topics. Say this about Oldham, however, despite his quirks (cracking vocals, shambolic instrumentation, baroque language), at its best, his music is bracing and, often, very beautiful. That said, I See a Darkness, his second LP since abandoning the Palace moniker, is the most accessible, gorgeous, and moving record of his career. Instead of the gothic, low-fi country feel of many of his projects, Darkness comes off sounding like an early-'70s Neil Young album, comprised of a stately piano backbone and fleshed out by loose-fitting guitar strums. Stylistically, Oldham mixes things up on Darkness and his full band sounds, for once, well practiced and well recorded. Sure, Oldham is still singing about the blackness of his soul, but in between--in small bursting moments--there are bits of light, hope, and a suggestion that maybe--just maybe--there may be redemption through love. That message, presented in these carefully constructed, gently offered songs, pushes this recording beyond the usual, curious appeal of Oldham and into an entirely new realm of greatness. S. Duda
Product Description
Bonnie "Prince" Billy's first full lenght LP cuts the umbilical chord witht the grim reaper's musical cleaver.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By Stowaway
Format:Audio CD
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy (aka Will Oldham) creates the scariest take on country music imaginable. In fact, this could easily be labelled 'goth country'.
His lyrics are intensley personal and his voice a deep and dark wonder. His songs are carefully crafted and arranged in an obscure warmth and frailty.
On some occasions the songs creep along steadily, on others errupt into soaring climaxes of double tracked vocals on the brink of collapse. These climaxes don't play on the usual tricks of severe dynamic change or string sections, but rather involve escalations in emotive force that ripple through you.
Will Oldham is a master songwriter, and an expert at creating sound collages and textures not usually associated with country music.
His lyrics are intensley personal and his voice a deep and dark wonder. His songs are carefully crafted and arranged in an obscure warmth and frailty.
On some occasions the songs creep along steadily, on others errupt into soaring climaxes of double tracked vocals on the brink of collapse. These climaxes don't play on the usual tricks of severe dynamic change or string sections, but rather involve escalations in emotive force that ripple through you.
Will Oldham is a master songwriter, and an expert at creating sound collages and textures not usually associated with country music.
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful
By Davy
Format:Audio CD
one of the best albums....................ever. any genre, any era. my god, what a knock out. this is the latest musical persona of will oldham (whose illustrious career began as "palace/palace music/palace brothers") and many say it's his greatest achievement yet. i knew within ten seconds of first hearing this record that it had to be true. every song reaches in and squeezes the heart, gets all tangled up in your insides. you know what's great about this record? every single haunting track is memorable and affecting. every one. there isn't a single track that fades into the background...and that is a rare treat these days. and the fact that a tune as staggeringly vibrant as "a minor place" can co-exist so easily with smothering odes like "i see a darkness" is just amazing. it is, in many ways, like life.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By el pirato
Format:Audio CD
Will Oldham combines soft and fragile melodies with atonal voices. He shows the beauty of error and the crushing power of tenderness.
Like almost everything that is "REALLY" good, you have to learn to appreciate this album. With every listening session there is something new that strikes you and slowly reveals the full beauty of this music.
Like almost everything that is "REALLY" good, you have to learn to appreciate this album. With every listening session there is something new that strikes you and slowly reveals the full beauty of this music.
This is a true jewel, in desperate need to be treasured.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
moody and wonderful
I just picked this up on vinyl and I have to say its one of those albums that you listen to once and think "huh?". Read more
Published 16 months ago by J. Brooks
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Intimate Experience
This album normally gets lumped into the genre of "folk" or the even more broad "indie rock," but a more fitting classification would be "collection of songs that haunt you more... Read more
Published on January 16, 2011 by Drake Mallard
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eerie Hillbilly Comin' Out The Holler...He Stares At You...Then...
First off, if you like Taylor Swift, signed Oprah's no texting pledge and enjoy watching "Dancing With The Stars", you probably won't like this album. Read more
Published on December 31, 2009 by BigCityChicken
4.0 out of 5 stars
Still escaping shadow
Often regarded as his greatest, and can that be blamed? For that rare album, BPB tunes all his minimal elements of alt-country despair deeper, and paired with his fleeting ability... Read more
Published on March 21, 2009 by IRate
5.0 out of 5 stars
Majestic
My favorite all time musician. Listen to him every chance I get. Often slow brooding melodic music that sinks into yer bones. Great songwriter that crushes anything out there. Read more
Published on November 14, 2008 by Ricardo Gardeazabal
3.0 out of 5 stars
Primitive Emo
I listened to "I See A Darkness" four times before I decided to review it. As a fan of Dan Reeder, I have a fondness for "American Primitive" which I believe this album is. Read more
Published on September 22, 2008 by L. Bullock
3.0 out of 5 stars
Moody yes, but lacking in dynamics
This is the first CD I've heard of his, and I purchased it on the strength of reviews and word of mouth. It is moody yes, but there really arn't any dynamics within the songs. Read more
Published on January 6, 2008 by Andrew Veale
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not for the faint of heart, but an incredible listen
I'm an avid music fan. I've listened to quite an array of rock and pop throughout my life and I can say without hesitation that this disc is unlike anything I've ever heard. Read more
Published on December 3, 2006 by Jeffrey T. Duda
5.0 out of 5 stars
Polished
For an avid Will Oldham fan like me this album started as a surprise. It actually sounds good! The sound is now more polished, the music not recorded at once and the voice not as... Read more
Published on December 29, 2005 by M. Buisman
5.0 out of 5 stars
Spare Brilliance
On first listen I was disappointed with this album. I expected melancholia but not like this. After a few more spins I figured out what I had missed. Read more
Published on June 8, 2005 by Justin Levy
