Wolfroy Goes to Town Domino****

There are as many Will Oldham personas to consider as there are Bonnie "Prince" Billy albums in the back catalogue. Those who fell for Oldham's brand of other music on 1999's I See a Darkness, and who wondered where that particular troubled troubadour went, will find much to love in the country-blues contours of Wolfroy Goes to Town. Dark, bleak and intense songs such as We Are Unhappy, New Tibetand New Whalingare majestic examples of what Oldham does best in this realm. Accompanied by Emmett Kelly, Shahzad Ismaily and Angel Olsen, musical foils who've toured and recorded with him a lot of late, we find Oldham time and again mining great, subdued, meaty songs out of the big themes of God, love, loss and human despair. Next time out he could be back doing R Kelly tunes in a music-hall style, so best treasure this for now. See dominorecordco.com

Download tracks: We Are Unhappy, New Tibet, New Whaling