Lie Down In The Light

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk review
Will Oldham has built a reputation as a singer-songwriter who taps into a bleak folk tradition as old as America, so the sound of Lie Down In The Light , his sixth studio album under the still confusing pseudonym Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy comes as something of a surprise. Whichever way you look at it, this is an upbeat, uplifting record, almost sunny in outlook. Dedicated fans might not prefer him this way (many consider his first record under the name Palace Brothers, the timeless, stricken There Is No One What Will Take Care Of You to be definitive), but Lie Down In The Light is undeniably charming and rather witty with it. Take the unexpected clarinet that turns the conclusion of the already rather daft "For Every Field There’s A Mole" into something as light as a silent movie soundtrack, or the way that the otherwise Saturnine "Where Is The Puzzle?" remains unresolved. Ashley Webber, once of Canadian new wavers The Organ, duets but even her mournful contributions can’t deflect from Mark Nevers’ skilful production. Only the title track, following a often used Oldham chord change, really sounds generic. Oldham obviously remains set on creating a determinedly solid body of work, but the odd soufflé, such as Lie Down In The Light, doesn’t come amiss.--Steve Jelbert

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-06-03 rating:
The master!
There really should be a national compulsory day-off for the whole nation when a Will Oldham record is released! Because they should be savoured, like a fine wine (which incidentally always goes well with an Uncle Will record)- hence the reason I buy them all on vinyl - a listening experience! He is the benchmark for all songwriters of our generation and he astounds with every record. And this one is a real grower, just like The Letting Go which crept up on you stealthily and threw you to the ground mercilessly and has never let go since! Long live the prince!

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review by: degrant date: 2008-06-02 rating:
Good Earthly Music
The opening chant of "One two three four" makes you think you have put on the Beatles' "Taxman" on by mistake but within seconds the unmistakeable stamp of Will Oldham, aka Bonnie Prince Billy, the King of alt country appears.

"Lie Down In the Light" is a more country-sounding recording than "The Letting Go" emphasised by the fact that instead of the distinctive, but very English folk sounding vocals of Dawn McCarthy, this time Oldham's female counterpart is Ashley Webber who has a great twang to her, best exemplified on her lines in "You Want the Picture" in which she asks plaintively "O you want that picture don't you daahlin'"

The sound is less spacious and epic than on "The Letting Go" but, equally, a much richer-sounding recording than a number of Prince Billy releases (with prominent percussion, fiddle to the fore and organ and pedal steel providing colour). One of the tracks features an almost central European-sounding clarinet while "Keep Eye On Other's Gain has an Eastern feel reminiscent of Beck or Iron and Wine's latest album.

Despite the interest of the instrumentation, the first thing which struck me was how some of Oldham's lyrics call to mind Philip Larkin's in tone with the sudden shift from description to observational conclusion. Witness the matter of fact chorus of "You Want The Picture": "And everything comes down to this/That everything there ever was or will be/is all there is", the music echoing this with its shift between sprightly verses and apocalyptic chorus with crashing chords.

"Lie Down In the Light" is no classic but "merely" a very strong album overall, less ambitious but more consistent than "The Letting Go" and although sometimes relatively low key, thankfully shorn of fillers. Furthermore, it boasts a few songs which rank very highly in Oldham's illustrious catalogue, most noticeably "You remind me" which features spell-binding vocal interplay between Oldham and Webber , "You Want the Picture" the beautiful "Missing One" and "The Puzzle" leaving one with, in the words of Oldham himself, "good earthly music singing into my head."

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review by: date: 2008-05-23 rating:
Another Classic
It took a few listens to really get into this album, it's a mixture of country & folk with Will Oldham superb but twisted vocals. The stand out track for me is "You remind me", excellent stuff.


review by: date: 2008-05-22 rating:
Do as the title says!
I have listened to this, Billy's latest LP offering a few times now, and believe me it's a grower. A collection of truly warm and uplifting songs, and in the style of 2006's The Letting Go, it sees him stray further and further away from his dark, eerie early 90s Palace output.

"So everyone", or at least a low quality demo version of it, was leaked weeks before the album was released, and to be honest didn't sound like it even had potential. After listeneing to it now however, in its fully fledged, polished, studio state, the track is in fact one of the album's standout tracks. Others include 'easy does it', a fantastic opener, 'for every field there is a mole', 'you want that picture' and the superb closing track 'I'll be glad'.

All in all, it is an album to be listened to in its entirety, and then listened to again and again. Definately a great soundtrack for summer 2008.

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