Bonnie "Prince" Billy :: We Are Together Again
Photo by Mickie Winter
With a culturally captivating career spanning over three decades, Louisville, Kentucky-based singer-songwriter and actor Will Oldham, known professionally as Bonnie “Prince” Billy, needs no further introduction as he returns to the spiritual surface after the release of last year’s critically acclaimed sophomore album on No Quarter, “The Purple Bird,” with a sophisticated sigh that can be heard, and felt across the unraveling universe with his most recent effort entitled “We Are Together Again”. Taking the breath straight from the lacerated lungs of listeners like a biblical burning brush fire, smothering the soundscapes of our trying times, Oldham delivers the revolutionary relief our weary species deeply desires. No matter how terrible and deeply dark as it may seem out there, it’s a blessing to share a similar space in time with songwriters such as Oldham, whose work has endlessly expanded the hearts and minds of audiences on all levels of the human experience. While continuing the familiarity of his previous record, the meditative material found within the crystalized catacombs of “We Are Together Again” effortlessly bridges the gap between family and the feverish foundation of intense isolation songwriters often have to embrace to unlock those magical melodies. It’s not always doom and gloom, but the poetic practice reflects the times by carefully connecting us to a source of liberating light that confidently casts its eager energy on the darkness that continues to surround us.
Joined by Oldham’s current live tour lineup, Jacob Duncan, and Thomas Deakin, the album also features a kaleidoscope of creative collaborators, such as Nuala Kennedy, Eamon O'Leary, Erin Hill, a lifelong friend and colleague, Oldham’s brother Ned Oldham, and cousin Ryder McNair, Jim Marlowe, Chris Cupp, Christopher Bush, and several others who intimately invest into the songs like a communicative currency that’s free for everyone. While embarking on a joyful journey that begins in the humble hallucinations of morning’s meticulous manifestations, and goes deep into the never-ending night that lies ahead, the veteran songwriting harmoniously howls at the suspended memories of the moon with numbers such as “Life is Scary Horses,”“The Children Are Sick,” and“Hey Little”, to further extend his visceral voice across the lands of literature, and mountains of melodies. Returning to his homeland in Louisville, Kentucky, after recording “The Purple Bird” in various locations in Nashville, Oldham brings to the surface a sonic sorcery, a complex collection of elemental entries that have only made his depthless discography even more of a natural wonder in the world of songwriting.
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https://bonnieprincebilly.bandcamp.com/album/we-are-together-again
