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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

The Letting Go
by Bonnie "Prince" Billy


8.4

based on 24 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 27 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

FILM:

Old Joy

MUSIC:

Jim White and Paul Oldham are among the guests on prolific songwriter Will Oldham's latest Bonnie "Prince" Billy studio recording.

LABEL:	Drag City
RELEASE DATE:	19 September 2006
DISCS:	1 disc
GENRE(S):	Indie, Rock, Singer-Songwriter, Alt-Country

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

The Onion (A.V. Club)

The pull of European cool against Oldham's usual rustic, heartfelt love poetry creates moments of sweet tension.

Paste Magazine

At last, Will Oldham as Bonnie 'Prince' Billy has given us a record of cryptic romanticism to complement the silver-rimmed bleakness of his 1999 masterpiece I See A Darkness. [Sep 2006, p.73]

All Music Guide

Truth to tell, since the quality of Oldham's songwriting has rarely wavered, the excellent arrangements and McCarthy's contributions make The Letting Go the best of his career to this point.

Entertainment Weekly

The effect is soothing, though it crosses the line into uncharacteristic blandness at times. [22 Sep 2006, p.94]

Stylus Magazine

It’s been years since he sounded this responsive and attentive.

Pitchfork

Unlike Oldham's best work, The Letting Go doesn't pull you into its own emotional world; it doesn't ask much, and you're free to take as much from it as you'd like.

Observer Music Monthly

The Letting Go's marvellously grandiose taster single, 'Cursed Sleep', suggested that this would be the album to finally reward our patience. And so it is, though not always in the way that might have been expected.

musicOMH.com

[An] understated but epic album.

Drowned In Sound

The heart of the album lies in the unparalleled excellence of Oldham’s songwriting – simple yet complex, understated and profound at the same time.

BBC collective

It’s a winning combination, with the Prince’s shambolic charm still intact but lent clarity by the new additions that make this infinitely preferable to previous efforts.

Billboard

Oldham's songwriting is top-notch as usual, his melancholy lyrics in perfect balance with the accompanying music.

Playlouder

A quite beautifully realised album.

Mojo

This album makes good on the promise of earlier benchmarks like Ease Down The Road and Master And Everyone. [Oct 2006, p.102]

NOW Magazine

The lineup addition of [singer Dawn] McCarthy proves to be a genius move; her vocals blend beautifully with Oldham's, and her soaring solo flights make a great recording exceptional.

cokemachineglow

It’s nowhere near as inviting as his previous works, even with the excellent production and introduction of strings. But give it a few weeks; it’ll grow.

Dot Music

Arguably up there with his greatest achievements to date, "The Letting Go" is business as usual for Oldham, but also a brand new start.

Uncut

The most immediately striking thing is the effect of the string arrangements, which add an extra layer of haunting mystery. [Oct 2006, p.102]

Prefix Magazine

The Letting Go benefits as much from diversity as from Valgeir Sigurosson's recording.

ShakingThrough.net

This promising notion of marrying the overly pensive, doomed-romantic Billy persona with orchestral-sized studio ambitions is a wash, the cumulative effect being undeniably gorgeous, in a rainy-day internalized apocalypse kind of way.

Q Magazine

For those prepared to dig in, it's another reliably rewarding listen. [Oct 2006, p.125]

Spin

The songs on The Letting Go that flirt with familiar forms... feel completely devoid of his pretentious tendencies. [Oct 2006, p.94]

Delusions of Adequacy

The Letting Go is arguably the most pretty and richly detailed record Oldham has released in years.

Dusted Magazine

It does contain some beautiful songs. Its deficiencies won’t miff his indulgent cult (at least not any more than they’ve been miffed previously). But it doesn’t quite hold together.

Under The Radar

Though it’s extremely well-crafted and features all his beloved attributes, it’s unlikely to win him many new fans. [#15]

The average user rating for this album is 8.4 (out of 10) based on 27 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Don B gave it a10:
just beautiful

Reuben F gave it an8:
Will Oldham, aka Bonnie "Prince" Billy, can thank the fickle winds of Indie fashion that he has a long pedigree for producing the sort of music that is currently in much demand. It also happens to be one of his best albums. 'Cursed Sleep' is a standout.

fred b gave it a9:
How beautiful to hear BPB dress up his songs, his attempts to "mainstreamize" his style are a success so far (check also the Pink Nasty duet)

mads l gave it a5:
I think Will Oldhams persona (this "wild man in the woods"-shtick) is beginning to wear a bit thin...in my mind he peaked with the magnificent I see a Darkness - this is just a minor rerun with added strings and that horrible backing singer, who certainly does her best at making the music obtrusive in an almost comical way...

Carol R gave it a10:
silly to rank, but whatever it is that this guy does so beautifully, he does it again here. We go with him to that place.

salomey gave it a10:
back in form and - let's face - hardly anyone can touch this man when in form logical progression from Master & Everyone which was also delicious

Tim P gave it a9:
Fucking great.

The Letting Go by Bonnie "Prince" Billy

The Letting Go
by Bonnie "Prince" Billy