Bonnie “Prince” Billy
The Purple Bird
NO QUARTER
Will Oldham (a.k.a. Bonnie “Prince” Billy), now 55, is still making alt-country music with the durability of an old-growth forest. New and returning collaborations or outside trends may burn through, but his old oaks of American style still stand firm. His latest album, The Purple Bird with producer Dave “Ferg” Ferguson, is as collaborative as Oldham’s past records with Tortoise, Matt Sweeney, Emmett Kelly’s Cairo Gang, or Mick Turner. According to notes shared by the artist, Oldham met Ferg 20 years ago in LA during Rick Rubin’s home recording sessions with Johnny Cash. “Cash was sweet as hell, and Ferg was gentle as well but also contained and charismatic,” Oldham remembered with affection. “There was absolutely no detectable bullshit. Everybody did what he was there to do, fully and fantastically. I couldn’t know that this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship, though I know a big part of me hoped that this would be the case.”
The Purple Bird is a tribute to this friendship with Ferg, named for a chalk drawing made by his longtime collaborator when he was a second-grader which served as a thematic influence for the cover art. That youthful energy and inspiration works well for a no-frills country record that gets so much done with so little. Recorded at Nashville’s Cowboy Arms Hotel and Recording Spa and the Butcher Shoppe, Oldham’s latest effort is paced well throughout, with early singles “London May” and “Our Home” touring through various styles. Elsewhere, country singer John Anderson appears on the ruminative acoustic track “Downstream,” and bluegrass legend Tim O’Brien joins the band for the fingerpicking porch jam “Our House.” “Turned to Dust (Rolling On)” kicks off the folk-country set quite well as its chorus ascends over electric guitar and piano interplay. “Guns Are for Cowards” is a darkly funny polka track in the outlaw-country mold and breaks up the slower songs quite well.
Oldham’s friendship with Ferg has deepened over the years, and The Purple Bird is better because of this fact. They’ve toured together, while Ferg also performed (with Kelly and Sweeney) at Oldham’s wedding and at his mother’s funeral. This album feels like a soothing and natural follow-up to 2023’s Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You, 2019’s I Made a Place, and 2017’s Best Troubadour, while not quite reaching the sheer songwriting heights of records like 2009’s Beware, 2008’s Lie Down in the Light, and his 1999 magnum opus I See a Darkness. The Prince abides, but never rides alone.