The Purple Bird

The Purple Bird
Studio album by Bonnie "Prince" Billy
Released	January 31, 2025 (2025-01-31)
Studio	The Cowboy Arms Hotel and Recording Spa The Butcher Shack
Genre	Folk country
Length	43:35
Label	Domino
Producer	David Ferguson
Bonnie "Prince" Billy chronology
Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You (2023) The Purple Bird (2025)

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 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

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	84/100 [5]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
Clash	7/10 [7]
The Observer	[2]
The Independent	[8]
MusicOMH	[9]
Paste	7.8/10 [3]
Pitchfork	7.7/10 [4]
PopMatters	8/10 [10]
Uncut	[1]
Under the Radar	6.5/10 [11]

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. ^{[6] [7] [13] [8] [9] [14] [15] [10] [16] [11]} 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. ^[5]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Turned to Dust (Rolling On)"	Will Oldham David Ferguson Ronnie Bowman	4:04
2.	"London May"	Oldham	3:20
3.	"Tonight with the Dogs I'm Sleeping"	Oldham Ferguson Bowman Tommy Prine	3:39
4.	"Boise, Idaho"	Oldham Ferguson Pat McLaughlin	3:46
5.	"The Water's Fine"	Oldham Ferguson John Anderson	4:25
6.	"Sometimes It's Hard to Breathe"	Oldham	3:46
7.	"New Water"	Oldham	3:39
8.	"Guns Are for Cowards"	Oldham	3:03
9.	"Downstream"	Oldham Ferguson Anderson	3:48
10.	"One of These Days (I'm Gonna Spend the Whole Night with You)"	Oldham Ferguson Roger Cook	3:50
11.	"Is My Living in Vain?"	Oldham [a]	3:14
12.	"Our Home"	Oldham Ferguson Tim O'Brien	2:55
Total length:			43:35

Note

• ^{^[a]} Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark is credited for writing "Is My Living in Vain?"

Personnel

• Will Oldham – lead vocals (all tracks), acoustic guitar (tracks 4–6, 10, 11)
• David Ferguson – production, mixing
• David Glasser – mastering
• Fred Eltringham – drums (all tracks), percussion (tracks 1, 3–8, 10, 12)
• Steve Mackey – bass
• Russ Pahl – electric guitar (all tracks), pedal steel (tracks 4, 10), steel guitar (6, 7), jaw harp (11), baritone guitar (12)
• Pat McLaughlin – mandolin (all tracks), additional singing (track 4), acoustic guitar (12)
• Stuart Duncan – fiddle (tracks 1–9, 11, 12), acoustic guitar (10, 12)
• Mike Rojas – keyboards (tracks 1–7, 9–12), accordion (4, 10, 12), piano (8)
• Brit Taylor – additional singing (tracks 1–4, 9, 10)
• Adam Chaffin – additional singing (tracks 1, 3, 4, 10)
• Mark Howard – banjo, additional singing (track 3)
• Leroy Troy – washboard (track 3)
• Tim O'Brien – additional singing (tracks 5, 12), mandolin (12)
• Roy Agee – trombone (tracks 7, 8)
• New Spahn Ranch Singers – additional singing (tracks 8, 12)
• Joey Miskulin – accordion, banjo (track 8)
• Matt Combs – violin, viola, cello, arco bass, bells (track 9)
• John Anderson – additional singing (tracks 9, 12)
• Eamon Dillon – uilleann pipes, whistle (track 9)
• D. Norsen – layout
• Lori Damiano – painting

Charts

Chart performance for The Purple Bird

Chart (2025)	Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [17]	57
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [18]	66
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [19]	93
Scottish Albums (OCC) [20]	20
UK Country Albums (OCC) [21]	1
UK Album Downloads (OCC) [22]	25
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [23]	8

References

1. O'Connell, Sharon (2025-01-30). "Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - The Purple Bird". UNCUT. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
2. 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.
3. "Bonnie "Prince" Billy Delights in His Artistry on The Purple Bird". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
4. Deusner, Stephen M. "Bonnie "Prince" Billy: The Purple Bird". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
5. "The Purple Bird". Metacritic . Retrieved 2025-02-05.
6. The Purple Bird - Bonnie "Prince" Billy | Album | AllMusic , retrieved 2025-02-06
7. Watkins, Michael (2025-01-27). "Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - The Purple Bird | Reviews". Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
8. 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.
9. Murphy, John (2025-01-29). "Bonnie Prince Billy - The Purple Bird | Album Reviews" . musicOMH. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
10. "Bonnie Prince Billy Finds a Comfortable Home". www.popmatters.com. 2025-01-30. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
11. Trunick, Austin. "The Purple Bird". www.undertheradarmag.com. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
12. "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.
13. 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.
14. "Bonnie "Prince" Billy Delights in His Artistry on The Purple Bird". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
15. Deusner, Stephen M. "Bonnie "Prince" Billy: The Purple Bird". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
16. O'Connell, Sharon (2025-01-30). "Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - The Purple Bird". UNCUT. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
17. "Ö3 Austria Top40: Longplay-Charts vom 11. Februar 2025" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40 . Retrieved February 12, 2025.
18. "Ultratop.be – Bonnie Prince Billy – The Purple Bird" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
19. "Dutchcharts.nl – Bonnie Prince Billy – The Purple Bird" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
20. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
21. "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
22. "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
23. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 8, 2025.