Wolfroy Goes to Town

Bonnie "Prince" Billy fans looking for a return to the surprisingly ornate, Grateful Dead-inspired country-folk of 2009's Beware may come away a tad disappointed in the ultra-sparse yet warm and winning Wolfroy Goes to Town. The ten songs, nearly all of which arrive via guitar, bass, and Oldham's weathered croon, feel lived in and coveted. It's typical Oldham fare, with highlights coming from opener "No Match," which builds to a powerful, harmonious climax, and the nearly seven-minute "Black Captain," an epic yarn of nobility and heartache that sounds like it's been around for a century or two. Coming off like a murkier, more intimate version of 2010's Wonder Show of the World with the Cairo Gang, Wolfroy's all about lonesome beauty, and the idiosyncratic wordplay that has become Oldham's forte since settling on the Bonnie "Prince" Billy moniker. ~ James Christopher Monger