Es gibt nicht viele Musikschaffende, deren frische Werke ich ungehört loben würde. Aber selbst in seinen produktivsten Phasen hat mich der Meister der intensiv-fragilen Verletzlichkeit nie enttäuscht, vor allem, weil es ihm bislang immer gelang, seinen ganz eigenen Weg fortzuführen und dennoch immer neue Pfade zu suchen und zu finden. Für sein elftes Studioalbum als Bonnie Prince Billy hat sich Will Oldham den Kalifornier Emmett Kelly – der bereits an The Letting Go und Lie Down In The Light beteiligt war – als festes Bord-Mitglied mit ins Singer-Songwriter-Schiff geholt. Kelly’s Gitarre schuf die Akkorde und Harmonie-Gebäude, die Oldham’s Worten zur Heimstatt wurden und so entstanden in intensiv-kreativen Studio-Tagen 10 Songs, die ebenso von der hohen Musikalität der beiden Protagonisten künden sollen, als auch dem blinden Vertrauen, dass zwischen ihnen herrscht.
(Glitterhouse)
Although The Wonder Show of the World is the first Bonnie "Prince" Billy record to feature a co-billing with the Cairo Gang, he's been accompanied by guitarist Emmett Kelly many times, both as part of his live band and in the studio for some of his best work of the 2000s (The Letting Go, Lie Down in the Light). This time it's special, though, with Kelly in the limelight like he's never been on record and a spare, no-frills production to emphasize the music-making on display. His playing is fluid and virtuosic but never showy, and his range is impressive, from fingerpicked guitar to lazy but jagged country-rock (on the occasional track with drums) to the brooding, stately "Teach Me to Bear You," where he tears off a solo channeling Eric Clapton during the last few seconds of a five-minute track. As always, Will Oldham's lyrics never fail to impress, and the best are front-loaded. The mystery of the opener, "Troublesome Houses," is revealed quickly ("I once loved a girl, but she couldn't take that I visited troublesome houses"). He inhabits his characters fully, and his lyrics reveal these characters' inner thoughts in intriguing fashion: some are stark and declamatory, others hurt and questioning, still others simply puzzled and helpless when faced with the hands they've been dealt. More than most Bonnie "Prince" Billy records, this is one of those austere records, filled with lyrical archaisms — fans will think first of Master and Everyone — but Kelly and company prove a capable foil for the monolith of Oldham's rustic songwriting and singing.
(by John Bush, All Music Guide)
Perennial indie folk rock bar raiser Bonnie Prince Billy has done it again with Wondershow Of The World -- his third truly excellent album to be released in the stretch of a couple years, not even including the charming vinyl-only live LP -- this time co-captaining the vessel with Emmett Kelly & The Cairo Gang. The album has a sparer vibe than the sometimes lushly accented roots rock and creaky, if still quite gorgeous warmth of the past couple gems. The sparseness does well to frame Oldham's voice just the way we want to hear it. We don't know how he keeps churning out such excellent records, but it's pretty great to be able to fearlessly look forward to everything Bonnie Prince Billy puts out! Titles include "Troublesome Houses", "Teach Me To Bear You", "The Sounds Are Always Begging", "Go Folks, Go", "Merciless And Great", "Someone Coming Through" and "Kids". (Well, kids, we didn't know Drag City was going to include a bonus pic sleeve 45 with initial copies. Happy surprises make life grand, don't they? Includes 2 bonus tracks: "Midday" and "You Win".)
(dustygroove.com)
The latest Bonnie “Prince” Billy album elevates The Cairo Gang’s main man, Emmett Kelly, from bit player to key collaborator, making prominent use of the avant-folkie’s voice and guitar as they wind easily around Will Oldham’s. The Wonder Show Of The World relies equally on Oldham’s in-the-moment spontaneity and the kind of ghostly after-the-fact orchestrations that Kelly brings to his own work. The album-opener, “Troublesome Houses,” sets the tone, coming out rhymeless and rhythmless: Its hook is little more than a two-note guitar signature, joined by little wisps of sound, as though friends wandered by, dug what Oldham and Kelly were doing, and were inspired to pick up their own instruments.
The intimacy of Wonder Show is common to Oldham’s work, whether he’s in high-lonesome mode with “Merciless And Great,” evoking a quiet church with “Someone Coming Through,” or getting a good call-and-response going with “Go Folks, Go.” The record is an achingly beautiful paean to companionship, whether musical or romantic, but it also embraces the mess of togetherness. Only Oldham could record a song as lovely as “That’s What Our Love Is”—with Kelly doing his best impression of David Crosby’s guitar over the bridge—and include a line hailing “the smell of your box on my mustache.” Nothing is ever clean in the Bonnie “Prince” Billy world.
(by Noel Murray March 23, 2010 avclub.com)