Bonnie “Prince” Billy

I Made a Place

What instruments spring to mind at the mention of “alt-folk?” Acoustic guitars? Banjos? Fiddles? If bawdy, blissful brass wasn’t your first answer, you wouldn’t be alone. Yet the backing

horns on Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s latest album, I Made a Place, give its songs an eccentric swagger that is compelling, captivating, heart-wrenching and utterly unpredictable. Just listen to the soaring brass blasts on opening track “New Memory Box” and try not to blissfully grin. Bonnie “Prince” Billy himself (the stage name for the mysterious, everidiosyncratic Kentucky songsmith Will Oldham) will have you smiling all the more, however, especially as his voice comically cracks at key points to accentuate certain lyrics on that song.

Other unique talents rounding out the LP include fellow Louisville, Kentuckyian and nimble acoustic picker Nathan Salsburg, whose fret dexterity is more than apparent on the minimalist “Look Backward on Your Future, Look Forward to Your Past.” Ditto “I Have Made a Place,” where Salsburg’s lithe acoustic strums fall in immaculate lockstep with the palpitating drumming of Mike Hyman (Gary Burton Quartet).

Esteemed singer-songwriter Joan Shelley is also a key contributor, and there’s no shortage of impeccably penned melodies and deft lyricism throughout the album. But aside from assembling a top-shelf team, Bonnie “Prince” Billy is also, of course, no slouch in the spotlight. His heartfelt writing and delivery of lines about “the sky ever-darkening” and his “bones starting to shake” on “Dream Awhile” quickly turn goofy, although they’re sung with such sincerity they’re rendered playfully sweet at one point: “My worry bag is vacant, my cookie jar is here.” That precarious balance between surrealism and sweetness, adept contributions and singular vision make I Made a Place feel like a must-visit destination. (Drag City)