Review Summary: Bon Other
Will Oldham's an artist who clearly sees his songs as fluid things that can be moulded into any form he chooses at the time, whether that means recording an entire album of cover versions of his own material as he did on 2004's 'Bonnie Prince Billy Sings Greatest Palace Music' or turning his most revered song, the pitch black 'I See a Darkness', into an upbeat rock anthem. 'Pond Scum' is another such exercise in reinterpretation collecting a series of Peel Sessions spanning '94 to '04 that predominantly focus on Palace tracks originally written in the early to mid nineties; what's intriguing here is that Will's finally chosen to release them under his current moniker. It's at this juncture I should admit that, as much as I'm a fan of Oldham's Bonnie 'Prince' Billy output, there are still huge swathes of his earlier Palace work I've yet to investigate. The man must be a relentless workaholic considering the mammoth trail of a discography he's produced, the upshot being that for all intents and purposes this is an album of fresh songs for me; I don't believe I'm taking too much of a risk predicting this will also be the case for many of his other followers too.
The appeal of Oldham's work can be hard to express and he remains a wilfully difficult character who relishes pulling the rug from under his audience as an exercise in confounding expectations. His 'bewhiskered oddball of the woods' shtick is oh so easy to rip on, indeed Jeffrey Lewis for one wrote an entire song about him ('Williamsburg Will Oldham Horror'), and there's always that question of just how much of the Bonnie 'Prince' Billy alter ego is supposed to be taken as tongue in cheek. His music has an authentic old time feel that sets him apart from the folk hipster set led by Fleet Foxes and Bon Iver, and yet there's also something distinctly knowing and post-modern going on in there too that stops him from being dismissed as just another revivalist or time travel fantasist. What can't be disputed is that Oldham has an unmistakable voice that breaks and falters just so and he writes lyrics that paint vivid imagery with an unnatural ease.
These qualities combine to great effect on the alternate version of 'Death to Everyone', the only representative from the classic 'I See a Darkness' album, and almost certainly the most famous of his own songs included here. The stripped down treatment works wonders, Oldham seems to linger over every turn of phrase and conveys far more obvious emotion in this clear speaking interpretation. Equally ear catching is 'Jolly One (2/15)', a quietly impressive track that showcases an unexpected range to Will's vocals; the track possesses a rare tenderness that proves the Bonnie one can always choose to deliver his songs straightforwardly heartfelt with equal ease.
The overriding themes of the album are of faith and redemption with religious references cropping up throughout; this is little surprise as Oldham has always been an artist for whom God is a recurring figure in his work, though naturally one who's frequently met with suspicion or outright hostility. The cover of Prince's 'The Cross' included here is a case in point with Will's vocals coming across as strained and desperate whilst all the while an ominous rumbling lingers in the background. This clearly isn't a man basking in God's love, rather he sounds terrified, gripped by the fear of time running out to effect a change before his day of reckoning. The opener '(I Was Drunk at the) Pulpit' deals in similar muddied spiritual beliefs and brings together Oldham's beloved twin obsessions of drinking and sin, the song recounting the experiences of a man who despite having a crisis of faith still casts judgment as though he himself is Lord of all.
This may appear to tick all the boxes of a very minor, non-essential fan only affair and yet we must remember this is an unpredictable artist, one who rarely adheres to conventional wisdom. In fact a strong case can be made that this is Oldham's most consistent and thematically unified release of recent times. Unless you're an aficionado of the man there's a good chance the majority of these songs will be new to you and what's more they're uniformly excellent presented in this unassuming guise.
