Will Oldham has announced a new solo album entitled Songs of Love and Horror, the follow-up to last year’s Best Troubadour and Wolf of the Cosmos. Those two albums, released under the beloved songwriter’s long-running Bonnie “Prince” Billy moniker, found him playing material by other artists: country legend Merle Haggard in the case of the former, and Norwegian vocalist Susanna for the latter. Now, he’s still in interpretive mode, but he’s moved on to his own catalog. Oldham’s just-announced new album Love and Horror (this one released under his given name) features songs from across his Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Palace catalogs, revisited as solo acoustic guitar renditions.
Songs of Love and Horror shares its name with an upcoming book of Oldham’s lyrics. Its tracklist includes well-worn Oldham classics like “New Partner” and “I See a Darkness” as well as lesser-known tunes and a cover of Richard and Linda Thompson’s “Strange Affair.” This isn’t the first time Oldham has released an album based largely on music he’s already recorded: 2004’s Sings Greatest Palace Music put Nashville studio sheen on a host of his early Palace-era songs, several of which will also appear on the new album.
Songs of Love and Horror is out October 19 via Drag City. See the full tracklist here.
