Bitchin Bajas and Bonnie “Prince” Billy- Epic Jammers and Fortunate Little Ditties (2016)

Bitchin Bajas and Bonnie “Prince” Billy- Epic Jammers and Fortunate Little Ditties (2016)

By: Ghost Writer

Will Oldham must be a great collaborator to work with, blending perfectly with those he participates with, and augmenting enormously those projects he dives into, take for instance his work with bands like Trembling Bells or post rock kings Tortoise for great examples of Oldham wonderfully connecting and playing in a fearless way outside his comfort zone.

This time, Oldham, under his alter ego of Bonnie "Prince" Billy gets along Bitchin Bajas, the Chicago musical project of Cooper Craine, also member of the krautrocking Cave, with BB Craine visit krautrock again, but on a very different side of the musical specter, eliminating the motorik sound of the German genre for its more contemplative vein, getting close to the cinematic sound of the mighty Popol Vuh, and the results shown here definitely belong to the hypnotic music the German band did to the equally hypnotic films by German giant filmmaker Werner Herzog.

On Epic Jammers and Fortunate Little Ditties, both musical partners go into a deep musical trip, letting themselves go in a free flowing, free form, yes, epic jam, as songs like opener May Life Throw You a Pleasant Curve, with hypnotic guitar lines and amazingly beautiful synth arrangements, while on Nature Make Us for Ourselves, Oldham seems to enjoy staying in the background, while letting him be devoured by BB gorgeous musical bottom, the band creates again a truly charming atmosphere, highly detailed and perfectly melding with Oldham hazy intonations.

But music goes into the purely ethereal on Your Heart is Pure, Your Mind is Clear, and Your Soul Devout, where percussion acquires an dream like quality, as both musical partners enter into the ultra-dark landscape of the American Gothic, with Oldham going shamanic and BB dissolving nearly into pure sound, a path both choose to follow again in a more pronounced way in Your Whole Family are Well, with Oldham loosing himself totally on Despair is Criminal, where it sound as if the man was floating over our heads.

Frippertronics and the legendary record No Pussyfooting, recorded by Brian Eno and Robert Fripp appears to be a clear reference on the eerie You Are Not Superman, which also makes me think that this surreal universe is not so far removed from the sour kaleidoscopic nightmares by The Flaming Lips.

It would be definitely impossible not to fall in love with the fragility and despair Oldham is able to display on Show Your Love and Your Love Will be Returned, with BB going really into ambient music here, while on songs like You Will Soon Discover How Truly Fortunate You Really Are just before letting his ghost guitar come out from the shadows on the fading folk of Your Hard Work is about to Pay Off. Keep on Keeping On, an amazing song with a more pastoral and near hypnotic sound.

Bitchin Bajas and Oldham have deliver us a really powerful musical work, it might be, like a Herzog movie, hard to get into it, but once you get into the trance, you won't be able to escape from it, wonderful free form music.