I had been beginning to wonder if I’d perhaps misjudged the Bonnie Prince: I was less than complimentary about his 2009 album ‘Beware’. But the man is insanely prolific and seems to command a fair amount of respect, and maybe, just maybe, he deserved a second chance.
Billy’s supremely eccentric appearance and out-there press-releases, characterised by an outrageously off-kilter and often self-deprecating sense of humour are strangely at odds with the musical content. Similarly, the lyrics may spring a few suprises, such as the opening couplet of ‘New Tibet’, on which Billy croons, ‘As boys, we fucked each other / As men, we lie and smile’, yet its potency is diminished by the subdued tone. It’s clearly the way he tells ‘em.
Nevertheless, ‘Wolfroy Goes to Town’ is certainly a different proposition from its predecessor, and though it kicks off with an overtly country tune in the shape of ‘No Match’, it’s a slow, downbeat affair. What follows is a set that’s built around simple acoustic songs that are forlorn, even bleak.
‘New Whaling’ is sparse, haunting, and like much of the album, notably the aforementioned ‘New Tibet’ and the minimal folk of ‘Cows’, slow, introverted, contemplative – but without being indulgent, narcissistic or solipsistic. The introversion and contemplation seeps in different directions.
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‘Wolfroy Goes to Town’ is not an album that grabs the listener, and it’s not really an album that does much to hold the attention either. Mood-wise, it may be on the bleak side, but it’s far from being a harrowing experience, but for me the main positive is the fact that Our Billy steers clear of the bad c&w cliché sounds to deliver an album that’s altogether more palatable, and surely not just to my ear. I guess what this illustrates is that if an artist can constantly knock out work, it might not all be especially good, but every once in a while they might strike, if not gold, then at least some kind of semi-precious metal. And had I misjudged him? No, not really.
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