Will Oldham, usually performing as Bonnie Prince Billy, has spent his prolific career finding new approaches to old styles, frequently by partnering with new collaborators. The Purple Bird suggests that Oldham doesn’t sound restless if he remains busy and curious.
The new primary collaborator this time is David “Ferg” Ferguson, a Nashville producer, engineer, and musician noted for his work with Johnny Cash, Sturgill Simpson, and Cowboy Jack Clement. Ferguson gets some songwriting credits and had a hand in bringing about this record, but it still sounds like Oldham (as much as that means any one thing). Rather than sounding like a modern Nashville record, The Purple Bird comes across as a comfortable spot for Oldham, well built on Americana traditions without sounding stodgy or artless.
Recent single and opening track “Turned to Dust (Rolling On)” provides the necessary context for the album. Through the steady folk number, Oldham considers that we’ll all soon be dead, using the point not for morbidity but to suggest that we quickly choose to get along. He stays just this side of schmaltz (an attribute of the record that highlights his artistry), singing lines like, “If we rely on love to lift us higher / Things’ll be alright for you and me.” It’s a little pie-in-the-sky, but Oldham’s grounding across The Purple Bird makes it work.
The first single, “Our Home”, uses its bluegrass feel to provide a blueprint for this proper way of living before we turn to dust. “Look in the eyes of the people we meet,” he sings. “That’s how we make it our home.” In trying times, it makes sense to turn to localized simplicity. Oldham sounds truly down home on this cut, and his relaxed demeanor gives the song its proper tone.
Bonnie Prince Billy sounds utterly at ease, but that doesn’t mean he’s at rest. Several of his tracks address immediate real-world concerns, sometimes with didactic messaging. “Downstream” uses a sleepy approach to address environmental concerns around a direct slogan: “It’s time to remember we all live downstream.” It’s a pretty number but a bit on the nose. Anti-gun cut “Guns Are for Cowards” has more fun with politics. The band play a jaunty, saloon-ready waltz as Oldham asks us, “Who would you shoot, and then how would you feel / Exalted? Or destroyed?” The song has some brutal moments, all dressed up in a fun little singalong.
These cuts work, but The Purple Bird reaches some of its highest points when Oldham finds the joy in life, which has come to feel like its own form of resistance. He gives a couple of invitations to skinny dip, and these lines please, but as the album develops, they take on an almost baptismal feel. Everything on the record fits together as part of finding a healthy way through the inevitable turbulence, not just of our time but of trying to get by in general. Oldham mixes comical relationship problems (“Tonight with the Dogs I’m Sleeping”) with romantic devastation (“Boise, Idaho”).
The Purple Bird‘s immersive complexity enhances whichever approach he takes on a given track. There are big existential questions, notably “Is My Living in Vain?” and a perpetual awareness of struggle. However, Oldham avoids despair, finding that love and community are ultimately the keys to moving forward meaningfully. Spelled out, it sounds clichéd, but the power of his art lies in making a statement that’s both nuanced and earned.
The record’s country-folk center allows for accessible tunes while delivered with great skill, so the whole big statement comes from and suits regular living. Bonnie Prince Billy might like to wander, but he sounds his best when he sounds at home, as he does here.