I like every Bonnie “Prince” Billy record, even the bad ones.
The Purple Bird is his new one and it’s a good one, maybe even a great one but that’s not really my call especially so soon into the listening.
From the liner notes:
The Purple Bird finds Bonnie “Prince” Billy working with a “producer” for only the second time in his illustrious catalog. This time it’s David “Ferg” Ferguson (Johnny Cash, Sturgill Simpson) who guides the songs backed by “the best band you can get in Nashville right now”, country singer John Anderson and Bluegrass legend Tim O’Brien. The Purple Bird is simultaneously like and unlike other BPB records. Many of the songs are a product of multiple composers’ voices, making the shape-shifting aspect of the BPB persona more fluid than ever before.
The Purple Bird is out today on No Quarter and it swings, sways, and swoons like nobody’s business.