Drag City

For Will Oldham, the idiosyncratic Kentucky songwriter known as Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, ironically it is often his side projects that define his recordings. Having produced over 40 albums and EPs since 1993, Oldham’s Americana is consistent: erudite and gothic, erotic and violent. Where the Picket Line’s bluegrass filled it with exuberant life on last year’s live Funtown Comedown, the Chicago-based Cairo Gang is practically invisible on The Wonder Show of the World. Oldham’s long, non-rhyming phrases ( “And quiet eluded me, and keeps from me still, though I need my own bed and its solace” ) tumble over shapeless acoustic tastefulness. The Bonnie Prince ponders Christian theology ( “Merciless and Great,” “Someone Coming Through” ), but The Wonder Show remains indistinct – all beard and no brawn.