Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You Explained

Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You
Type:studio
Artist:Bonnie "Prince" Billy
Cover:Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You.png
Length:45:57
Label:Drag City
Prev Title:Blind Date Party
Prev Year:2021

Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You is the twenty-first studio album by Bonnie "Prince" Billy, the stage name of American indie folk musician Will Oldham. It was released on August 11, 2023, through Drag City. The album was recorded in Oldham's home in Louisville, Kentucky, and preceded by the lead single "Bananas".[1]

Critical reception

Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You received a score of 84 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on seven critics' reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

Reviewing for the album for AllMusic, Fred Thomas called it, "the kind of record that gets played over and over until it feels like a part of the listener's personal history" Mojo noted that it contains "a spare, homespun feel with its simple folk guitar", while Uncut deemed it "an open, compassionate record with a fierce spirit".

Marko Djurdjic of Exclaim! remarked that "the music throughout is unsurprisingly eclectic, with flourishes of country and flamenco, balladry and folk, and Oldham is backed by a more-than-competent band", also describing it as "a private album for mourning the state of the world and ourselves in it". Leo Lawton of Loud and Quiet concluded that "this record stands out because of its incredible thematic range. Such a well-rounded piece of work could only have been made by Bonnie Prince Billy himself, who has clearly lived life through his own fascinating, emotionally charged subjectivity".

Personnel

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Bonnie "Prince" Billy Announces New Album, Shares Video for New Song "Bananas": Watch. Pitchfork. Strauss. Matthew. May 22, 2023. August 10, 2023.