My apologies for my absence, dear reader. A combination of an extra long weekend and a whole lot of other draws upon my time led me to being a bit slow on getting to this review.
Disc 1404 is…. I Made a Place
Artist: Bonnie Prince Billy
Year of Release: 2019
What’s up with the Cover? A butterfly perches on a field of brambles. There was a time when I would’ve had a good chance at identifying what kind of butterfly this is, but that knowledge has been pushed aside in favour of a bunch of other random knowledge, mostly music related.
Observant readers will note that I have indicated the album is called “I Made a Place” but the cover clearly says “I Have Made a Place.” I don’t know what the hell is going on here, but the spine of the CD case leaves out the ‘have’ as does BPB’s own bandcamp site, and the coding on the CD itself when you play it. For all those reasons, I’m going without the ‘have’.
How I Came To Know It: I like Bonnie Prince Billy, so this was just me checking out his latest release.
How It Stacks Up: Not counting “Greatest Palace Music” (which is more of a re-recorded compilation of earlier work) I now have five Bonnie Prince Billy albums. “I Made a Place is one of the best, almost knocking “Ease Down the Road” out of #1 before gracefully settling for silver. It knocks three other albums down a peg, however. Here’s the full accounting.
- Ease Down the Road: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 927)
- I Made a Place: 4 stars (reviewed right here)
- Lie Down in the Light: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 1184)
- I See a Darkness: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 1092)
- Superwolf: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 903)
Ratings: 4 stars
On “I Made a Place” Bonnie Prince Billy (BPB) finally lightens up. His early work can be creepy, sexy, and quite often both. But here an older and more refined BPB relaxes into pastoral country music filled with optimism and good advice. It sits well on him.
Musically, the record has the feel of a daydream, with lazily lilting melodies and rambling lighthearted reverie. It is as deep and profound as his previous works, but it feels like everything is happening in the middle of the afternoon, rather than the dead of night.
The record has an old-timey country swing, particularly when the violins kick in. It helps you settle in comfortably, but even amidst all the comfortably familiar sounds, the songs still surprise you with how they evolve musically, often taking one or two extra twists before resolving, while never feeling overwrought as a result.
It helps that Joan Shelley provides her exceptional talent on backing vocals, but the star here is and remains Bonnie Prince Billy, whose vocals have rarely sounded this good; light, feathery, and full of wispy wisdom.
The songs are mostly about how to survive life’s many twists and turns with a good-natured calm. A lot of the advice is about finding your centre and accepting responsibility for both your decisions and outlook. On “The Devil’s Throat” Billy reminds us to ground ourselves in a good place and the rest will take care of itself. On “I Have Made a Place” a minor key and ominous guitar creates a sense of unease, but Billy pilots us through with a simple mantra:
“I don’t know why I was born
But I have made a place.”
There is something deeply spiritual to each of these songs, even though they feel – at their core – secular. BPB is interested in the various decisions and outlooks that shape us and our reality, holding us to gentle (and sometimes not-so-gentle) account. On the ungainly-titled “Look Backward to Your Future, Look Forward to Your Past” when he sings,
"This particular assemblage of molecules and memories
Someday soon may just run out of gas.”
there is still reverence in his approach. We’ve got one life, so fill that life with all the best things you can.
Even on “Squid Eye,” which had me suspecting that BPB was turning into a Lovecraftian Deep One, there is a heart. Sure our narrator is being called inexorably to the mysteries of the ocean, but he’s quick to point out that it could be just that Aquaman was his dad, or maybe Ariel is his sister. No dread Cthulhu necessary to enjoy a swim, dear listener.
And while there is a lot less darkness on this record than on many earlier efforts, everything is just as beautiful. “I Made a Place” is a late career masterpiece for Bonnie Prince Billy. Or to use his own words on “Thick Air”:
“Now we are free (just about to be)
“And a thick air of triumph flows in.”
Best tracks: New Memory Box, The Devil’s Throat, Look Backward on Your Future Look Forward to Your Past, I Have Made a Place, Squid Eye, This is Far From Over, Thick Air
No comments:
Post a Comment