Bonnie 'Prince' Billy: I See a Darkness

Dear Ben, So good to see you last night, especially as I thought the chances of you being there (having previously been on the college's "lost contact with" list) were negligible. We've a lot to catch up on. I hope you made it home safely — I feel surprisingly undamaged, given how much I drank. I owe you a packet of cigarettes, as well.

"Many times we've been out drinking, Many times we've shared our thoughts". It's not a cheerful buddy song, though, I See a Darkness. I got this album in October 2001, about a year after the Johnny Cash album on which the man in black covered the title track. I'd heard Bonnie 'Prince' Billy doing John Peel sessions before that, but it was the Cash cover that really made me take notice.

Funny, though, how incongruous and surprising B'P'B sounded at first on the Peel Show, only for the association later to do a lot of good for his credibility: he wouldn't be the same artist if it were Bob Harris who had introduced him to UK audiences — as it could well have been.

There was a time at the start of this decade when, critically, B'P'B could do no wrong. I see Word magazine has started a small backlash by including him in a list of "people who can do no wrong, but really aren't that good" (or words to that effect), with David Hepworth asking "does anyone actually like him". That may be a little poorly timed, since apparently his new album is very easy to like. (In fact, Word has given it quite a positive review.)

I like this one, too. Yes, it has a lot of death and depression in it. But the mix of vulnerability and haunting tunes makes it flow, gives it a coherence.

MusicBrainz entry for this album