I See a Darkness by Bonnie 'Prince' Billy

I See a Darkness, released in January 1999, is Will Oldham's sixth studio album and the first under the name Bonnie "Prince" Billy. From 1993 to 1997 he had recorded under a rotating set of Palace names, briefly put music out as himself, and in 1998 settled on the new alias for most of what came next.

The name changed, but the ache didn't. It's a spare, hushed folk record, all creaking acoustic guitars, patient rhythms and that cracked, wavering voice, which sounds less like singing than confessing. Paul Oldham, David Pajo, Bob Arellano, Colin Gagon and Peter Townsend help out, but they play like people trying not to wake the house. The title song, dark and tender at once, is the one that has lingered.

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