Bonnie Prince Billy and the Cairo Gang - The Wonder Show of the World
by Maarten Schiethart
published: 30 / 5 / 2010
Label:
Domino Records
Format: CD
intro
Melancholic and heartfelt, but monotonous and dull folk/soul on latest album from Bonnie Prince Billy, one of the many monikers of the prolific Will Oldham
At times the fragility of a sad reality can get the worst out of one. 'The Wonder Show of the World' achieves just that. One of the many guises of the highly prolific Will Oldham, 'The Wonder Show of the World' finds him trapped once again in folky soul-searching fashion. More often than not this is just sulking. It is all heartfelt yet at the very same time the melancholy dribbles on and on. Oldham's personal confessions sound increasingly mundane, but exactly when you decide to go to sleep than rather listen any further he manages to strike a balance between Al Green and Nick Drake. The sadness notwithstanding, at times I simply chuckled and turned sarcastic; the songwriting, performance and singing on for example 'Go Folks, Go' shows the hand of the master. Oldham may be the village idiot of the indie music scene. Alas, he's done all this before a zillion times and the only way out, and forward, would be to go to Teletubbyland where he could sing lullabies to his grandchildren. Gifted as he is obviously is, even if he had turned senile, Oldham could still churn out the odd memorable song with somehow comprehensive lyrics. What bothers me most is that his 'backing band' is forever changing but he never seems to manage to change his style. He should shuffle down to Memphis and do genuine soul music.
Track Listing:-
1 Troublesome Houses2 Teach Me To Bear You
3 With Cornstalks Or Among Them
4 The Sounds Are Always Begging
5 Go Folks, Go
6 That's What Our Love Is
7 Merciless And Great
8 Where Wind Blows
9 Someone Coming Through
10 Kids
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