The Purple Bird
| The Purple Bird | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 31, 2025 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 43:35 | |||
| Label | Domino Recording Company | |||
| Producer | David "Ferg" Ferguson | |||
| Bonnie "Prince" Billy chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Purple Bird is the thirtieth studio album by American singer Will Oldham. It was released under the name Bonnie "Prince" Billy on January 31, 2025.
Background and composition
The Purple Bird was produced by David "Ferg" Ferguson, making it the second album on which Will Oldham has worked with a producer.[1] It was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee.[2]
A folk and country album, The Purple Bird consists of 12 tracks and has a runtime of 43 minutes.[3][4]
Release and reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 84/100[11] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| Clash | 7/10[6] |
| The Observer |  [2] |
| The Independent | [7] |
| MusicOMH | [8] |
| Paste | 7.8/10[3] |
| Pitchfork | 7.7/10[4] |
| PopMatters | 8/10[9] |
| Uncut | [1] |
| Under the Radar | 6.5/10[10] |
The Purple Bird was released on January 31, 2025, through Domino.[12] It is Oldham's thirtieth studio album, and follows Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You (2023).[1]
Upon its release, The Purple Bird received positive reception from music critics.[5][6][13][7][8][14][15][9][16][10] According to the review aggregator Metacritic, The Purple Bird received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 84 out of 100 from 14 critic scores.[11]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Turned To Dust (Rolling On)" | 4:04 |
| 2. | "London May" | 3:20 |
| 3. | "Tonight With The Dogs I'm Sleeping" | 3:39 |
| 4. | "Boise, Idaho" | 3:46 |
| 5. | "The Water's Fine" | 4:25 |
| 6. | "Sometimes It's Hard to Breathe" | 3:46 |
| 7. | "New Water" | 3:39 |
| 8. | "Guns Are For Cowards" | 3:03 |
| 9. | "Downstream" | 3:48 |
| 10. | "One of These Days (I'm Gonna Spend the Whole Night With You)" | 3:50 |
| 11. | "Is My Living In Vain?" | 3:14 |
| 12. | "Our Home" | 2:55 |
| Total length: | 43:35 | |
References
- ^ a b c O'Connell, Sharon (2025-01-30). "Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - The Purple Bird". UNCUT. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
- ^ a b Empire, Kitty (2025-01-31). "Bonnie 'Prince' Billy: The Purple Bird review – Will Oldham goes country, but darkly". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
- ^ a b "Bonnie "Prince" Billy Delights in His Artistry on The Purple Bird". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
- ^ a b Deusner, Stephen M. "Bonnie "Prince" Billy: The Purple Bird". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
- ^ a b The Purple Bird - Bonnie "Prince" Billy | Album | AllMusic, retrieved 2025-02-06
- ^ a b Watkins, Michael (2025-01-27). "Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - The Purple Bird | Reviews". Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
- ^ a b Brown, Helen (2025-01-31). "Like a roadhouse bartender, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy serves familiar comforts and soaks up the world's strange spillages on his new album". The Independent. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
- ^ a b Murphy, John (2025-01-29). "Bonnie Prince Billy - The Purple Bird | Album Reviews". musicOMH. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
- ^ a b "Bonnie Prince Billy Finds a Comfortable Home". www.popmatters.com. 2025-01-30. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
- ^ a b Trunick, Austin. "The Purple Bird". www.undertheradarmag.com. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
- ^ a b "The Purple Bird". Metacritic. Retrieved 2025-02-05.
- ^ "Frànçois & The Atlas Mountains, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Yoa... Voici les 5 albums de la semaine ! | Les Inrocks". Les Inrockuptibles (in French). 2025-01-31. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
- ^ Empire, Kitty (2025-01-31). "Bonnie 'Prince' Billy: The Purple Bird review – Will Oldham goes country, but darkly". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
- ^ "Bonnie "Prince" Billy Delights in His Artistry on The Purple Bird". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
- ^ Deusner, Stephen M. "Bonnie "Prince" Billy: The Purple Bird". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
- ^ O'Connell, Sharon (2025-01-30). "Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - The Purple Bird". UNCUT. Retrieved 2025-02-06.