Superwolf

Will Oldham, a.k.a. Bonnie “Prince” Billy, is forever trying to find a new sound within his own limited, acoustic country-folk weirdness and guitarist Matt Sweeney (Skunk, Zwan, Chavez) never settles in with any one project for long, so these two transient musicians gather together for a one-off project where they share the album billing and the songwriting duties. (Sweeney has served as guitarist on the tour that brought us the live album Summer In the Southeast). Oldham’s musical persona is simply too strong for any collaborator to dominate and while Sweeney manages to keep Oldham on task and away from his lackadaisical wanderings and interjects a few confident guitar lines, Superwolf is an Oldham album from start to finish. There’s a Grateful Dead chug to “My Home Is the Sea,” a lonesome harmony to “What Are You?,” a distant, early warning to the tribal country of “Goat and Ram” and a sublime sadness to “Bed Is For Sleeping” not dissimilar to other fine Oldham works. Just a bit more voltage in spots.