The Letting Go took me a little a while to get into but that’s something I find with all of Will Oldham’s albums, no matter what name he’s recording under. By now, this album is in my top five albums of his. The songs are of a high standard to begin with but the addition of my favourite drummer, Jim White, and some sublime vocals thanks to Dawn McCarthy have pushed The Letting Go into the Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy big league.
I find it easy to get complacent with Oldham’s work. He’s released so many fine albums that I sometimes fall into the trap of thinking a song is worse than it is because it isn’t “I See a Darkness.” Luckily I normally see the error of my ways. With this album there are a number of gems which would be the high points of many lesser artists’ careers but here it took me a while to appreciate them for the wonders that they are. Early on in the album are the songs “Strange Form of Life” and “Cursed Sleep,” both are exceptional. McCarthy’s vocals (they’re too good and too prominent to be referred to as mere backing vocals) are the perfect counterpoint for Oldham’s old man of the mountains croak, especially on “Strange Form of Life.”
By far the most stunning song of the album is “No Bad News,” where all the musicians come together as one. White’s drumming is, as always, lyrical and deeply expressive. McCarthy continues to impress me with her most beautiful voice; she stuns me non-stop during this song. Of course, the lyrics provided by Oldham are top notch and provide such a wonderful airstrip for McCarthy to take off from. The final minute of the song where there is a complete change in style comes as a pleasant surprise each time I listen.
The album is mostly laid back, many of the songs sound like sitting out in the middle of nowhere enjoying nature. The group do let their hair down (well those that have hair) on “The Seedling” which is as close as any song gets to the rocked up Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy heard recently on his live album. This break from the pastoral mood was needed as I imagine without it the album might feel a little too relaxed. Although there is always that subtle humour running through Oldham’s words that never let a song become boring.
The Letting Go is a welcome return to form for Oldham following the travesty that was his collaboration with Tortoise. It shows that he’s far from running out of steam as a songwriter. This is one of the best and most consistent collections of songs he’s produced in his career.
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