As anyone who's ever read one of his painfully inarticulate interviews will know, Kentucky singer-songwriter Will Oldham is a very odd character indeed. Maybe it's a necessary part of his twisted genius - because as his third album under the alias of Bonnie Prince Billy confirms, that's exactly what he is. And whether it's because his personal demons have spurred him on to new artistic heights, or simply because he's deigned to let other musicians play with him for a change, Master and Everyone is by far his most impressive offering to date. Initially designed as a straightforward rock record, this is instead about as stirring a collection of bedsit music as you'll find outside the recorded works of Leonard Cohen, a series of heartfelt paeans to crushed hopes and departed loved ones. There's nothing particularly new about any of this, of course, but the plain fact is that Oldham's songs have an emotional authenticity and poetic lyricism that very few of his contemporaries can match. Be warned - Master and Everyone makes for very uncomfortable listening at times, and is certainly not a record you'd want to hear every day of your life. Listened to under the right circumstances, however, it's nothing short of stunning - and who can ask for more than that?
