ALBUM REVIEW: Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy Contemplates Life’s Meaning on ‘The Purple Bird’
Jim Shahen
Posted On January 31, 2025
Will Oldham is no stranger to collaborative endeavors. But unless specifically noted otherwise —the 2022 Blind Date Party team-up with BIll Callahan and Superwolves with Matt Sweeney, for example—his releases under the Bonnie “Prince” Billy moniker are solo endeavors, consisting of material conceived and composed by Oldham.
For his new LP The Purple Bird, Oldham goes in a different creative direction. He cedes some to and shares creative responsibility with his longtime friend, producer David Ferguson, and a crackerjack team of country legends and session hands. The collaborative effort pays off, as The Purple Bird is an engaging listening experience that merit repeat listening.
Tim O’Brien pops up on a pair of songs, harmonizing with Oldham wonderfully on the swinging “The Water’s Fine” and lending his co-writing, singing and mandolin playing skills to album closer “Our Home.”
Elsewhere, John Anderson writes and duets with Oldham on “Downstream.” Oldham’s soft, plaintive vocals pair well with Anderson’s weighty, heartfelt delivery to make an eloquent statement about environmental and interpersonal stewardship.
While the guest co-writers add a unique flavor to The Purple Bird, Oldham offers up an ample amount of his own solo compositions. The finest of these is “Guns are for Cowards,” a rollicking waltz where Joey Miskulin’s accordion playing and background vocals from the New Spawn Ranch Singers really pop. “Sometimes it’s Hard to Breathe,” featuring some gorgeous steel guitar from Russ Pahl, is an aching track about the difficulties of just existing and attempting to show grace and decency in a world that makes it exceedingly challenging to do so.
The sentiment pairs well with the penultimate album on The Purple Bird, “Is My Living in Vain?” It’s a cover of a 1980 track by gospel singer-songwriter Elbernita “Twinkie” Clark. Oldham presents it in a sparse arrangement and rhetorically asks if his actions and life are really worthwhile, in the grand scheme of things.
It’d be a heavy way to end the album, but the aforementioned “Our Home” offers up a resounding “yes” to those questions. It’s one of the finest pieces on the album, with a palpable warmth. It’s lyrics matches the theme of the record in general – it’s ok to go it alone, but it’s better to be in the company of others – and make for a lovely finale to the record.
Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s The Purple Bird is out Jan. 31 via No Quarter.
