Just when you think the incomparable Will Oldham has explored every corner of his creativity, he returns with a new album bursting with refreshing folk and moving lyricism. After decades of honing his songwriting through a multitude of solo material and side projects his songwriting has found a balance between direct messaging and vague poetry and the marriage of those two worlds is at the center of his latest offering.
Recorded with a group of music educators in the open fields of Kentucky under one of Oldham’s many aliases Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You puts the artist’s songwriting in a new light and leaves room for just enough musicianship to creep through the cracks. Throughout the album’s 12 tracks, Oldham explores complex topics over simple arrangements, creating a juxtaposition so enticing and visceral it almost personifies the mystique the artist has built over the years. In a burst of fireside-chat-style songwriting and minimal arrangements, Oldham pens one of the most personal albums of his career in a novelistic twist to his signature style.
Oldham seems to have relieved himself of any fear in Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You. His penmanship is bold and filled with metaphors that attempt to simplify the intense subject matter of the album. Each song acts as a chapter in the artist’s sonic memoir although these tracks are able to stand all on their own. There are no established characters in this story except Oldham and the emotions he chooses to bring to life through a literary prowess that is usually reserved for ivy league classrooms and pretentious wine gatherings. Here, Oldham is able to welcome all into his mind which seems to be constantly running with deep thoughts in an attempt to slow these ideas and issues to a halt and truly explore them rather than treating them as passing moments. These songs treat every moment as a means to learn something about oneself in a flurry of gently delivered melodies. The softness of his voice eases over the tension built in the lyrics while the album’s arrangements keep things humble.
Oldham’s songwriting has never lacked a sense of intellect mixed with emotional understanding but in the songs presented to us here, everything seems elevated. This album feels like an equinox or solstice of some sort for Oldham, a changing of the times that is bottled up and admired like a child collecting fireflies. It’s moments like that that seem to stick the most with our author as each song carries the innocence of a summer off of school.
The album kicks off with the intimacy of “Like It Or Not”, a stirring ballad that places Oldham’s gruff vocals against a weeping acoustic guitar as the lyrics explore mortality and the peaceful dread that comes with it. His attempts to simplify the puzzle of life boil down to three categories on the track “Willow, Pine, and Oak”, a beautifully written song that puts the people around Oldham in their place in the most gently poetic way possible. The bluntness of some of these songs humanizes the otherworldly literary devices deployed by Oldham on this LP. It’s not that he has given up on understanding the nuances of the human experience; rather he breaks down the complexity of the mind and compares his findings to the simpler things like an autumn breeze or a glass of wine.
Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You is a bluntly accurate title for Will Oldham’s latest outing as Bonnie “Prince” Billy. His flowery approach to the harshness of reality allows the listener to slow down to the gentle tempos and encourages you to dive head-first into moments and emotions we usually ignore. These minimalistic arrangements only add to the potency of his words, adding just enough flavor without overtaking the message Oldham is trying to get across. Will Oldham has set a new standard for himself on Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You, a standard that could only possibly be outdone by the artist who set it.
