Beware

Singer-songwriter Will Oldham's seventh album under the name Bonnie "Prince" Billy (not counting collaborations with Tortoise, Matt Sweeney, and Dawn McCarthy, nor live albums or the rarities compilation LITTLE LOST BLUES), BEWARE is of a piece with Oldham's previous works, but it also feels like the culmination of a sound he has been slowly inching towards since rechristening himself Bonnie "Prince" Billy with 1999's I SEE A DARKNESS. Musically, the album is rooted in country and folk-rock, but Oldham's records have rarely had such depth to their arrangements before. The centerpiece track "You Are Lost" is built on pedal steel, fiddles,and other accoutrements of rootsy Americana, but moves slowly from a staid, martial opening to a gorgeous, epic rush of instruments and voices. Nearly every song has the word "I" or "You" in its title, and Oldham's lyrics are similarly direct, leaving aside his earlier fascinations with folklore and metaphor in favor of his most unvarnished and personal songs. BEWARE has the feel of a major achievement, and is arguably Will Oldham's finest work.