I Made a Place
I Made a Place is a 2019 album by Bonnie "Prince" Billy, the stage name of American indie folk musician Will Oldham. It was released to positive critical reception.
I Made a Place | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 15, 2019 | |||
Studio | Downtown Recording, Louisville, Kentucky, United States | |||
Genre | Indie folk[1] | |||
Length | 43:34 | |||
Label | Drag City/Domino | |||
Producer | Mark Nevers[2] | |||
Bonnie "Prince" Billy chronology | ||||
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Recording
The songs that make up I Made a Place were recorded by Oldham with producer Mark Nevers; the duo originally considered making a Ramones cover album but after the death of David Berman, they went back to original songs.[2] These compositions were recorded with no intention on releasing an album.[2]
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Album of the Year | 78/100[3] |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7.8/10[4] |
Metacritic | 82/100[5] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
American Songwriter | |
Exclaim! | 8/10[8] |
The Guardian | |
MusicOMH | |
NME | |
Pitchfork | 7.1/10[1] |
The editorial staff of AllMusic gave the album 3.5 out of five stars, with reviewer Fred Thomas concluding that it is made up of solid songwriting but stating, "While no less emotionally dense than that or any of Oldham's work, I Made a Place feels less intense, and even fun by comparison".[6] Kitty Empire of The Observer gave it four out of five stars, for the moving quality of Oldham's lyrics and in particular his investigation of solitude.[9] Sal Sodomsky of Pitchfork awarded the album 7.1 out of 10 for what he wrote was one of Oldham's most "complicated" albums.[1] Stereogum named it album of the week, with Tom Breihan calling the songs "security-blanket music, and it's lovely".[12]
Accolades
Publication | Accolade | Rank |
---|---|---|
Slant Magazine[13] | Top 25 Albums of 2019 | 25 |
Uncut[14] | Top 75 Albums of 2019 | 39 |
Track listing
All songs written by Bonnie "Prince" Billy
- "New Memory Box" – 3:01
- "Dream Awhile" – 3:31
- "The Devil's Throat" – 3:33
- "Look Backward on Your Future, Look Forward to Your Past" – 3:55
- "I Have Made a Place" – 3:39
- "Squid Eye" – 2:46
- "You Know the One" – 3:37
- "This Is Far from Over" – 2:46
- "Nothing Is Busted" – 4:33
- "Mama Mama" – 2:32
- "The Glow, Pt. 3" – 3:22
- "Thick Air" – 2:41
- "Building a Fire" – 3:38
Personnel
- Bonnie "Prince" Billy – guitar, vocals
- Jacob Duncan – woodwind, keyboards
- Chris Greenwell – recording
- Mike Hyman – drums
- Danny Kiely – bass guitar
- Cheyenne Mize – fiddle
- Mark Nevers – production
- Dan Osborn – layout
- Chris Rodahaffer – banjo, pedal steel guitar
- Carl Saff – mastering
- Nathan Salsburg – guitar
- Joan Shelley – vocals
Charts
Chart (2019) | Peak position |
---|---|
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[15] | 56 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[16] | 114 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] | 87 |
Scottish Albums (OCC)[18] | 58 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] | 93 |
References
- Sodomsky, Sal (November 15, 2019). "Bonnie 'Prince' Billy: I Made a Place". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
- Khanna, Vish (November 18, 2019). "Bonnie 'Prince' Billy on Recording Others' Songs, Mourning David Berman and Long-Awaited I Made a Place". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
- "Album of the Year Review". Album of the Year. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
- "AnyDecentMusic? Review". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
- "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
- Thomas, Fred. "I Made a Place – Bonnie 'Prince' Billy". AllMusic. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
- Rutledge, Chris (November 13, 2019). "Album Review: I Made a Place Is a Definitive Home Run". American Songwriter. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
- Mullin, Kyle (November 15, 2019). "Exclaim! Review". Exclaim!. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
- Empire, Kitty (November 17, 2019). "Bonnie 'Prince' Billy: I Made a Place Review – Older, Wiser and Happier". Retrieved March 17, 2020.
- Newington, Mark (November 17, 2019). "MusicOMH Review". MusicOMH. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
- Cooper, Leonie (November 15, 2019). "I Made a Place Review: The Influential Underground Icon's Comeback Is a Soft, Sumptuous Delight". NME. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
- Breihan, Tom (November 12, 2019). "Album of the Week: Bonnie "Prince" Billy I Made a Place". Stereogum. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
- "The 25 Best Albums of 2019". Slant Magazine. December 12, 2019. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
- "Uncut's 75 Best Albums of 2019". Album of the Year. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
- "Prince"+Billy&titel=I+Have+Made+a+Place&cat=a "Austriancharts.at – Bonnie "Prince" Billy – I Have Made a Place" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
- "Prince"+Billy&titel=I+Have+Made+a+Place&cat=a "Ultratop.be – Bonnie "Prince" Billy – I Have Made a Place" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – Bonnie "Prince" Billy – I Have Made a Place" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
- "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
- "Prince"+Billy&titel=I+Have+Made+a+Place&cat=a "Swisscharts.com – Bonnie "Prince" Billy – I Have Made a Place". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
External links
- Page from Drag City
- I Made a Place at Discogs (list of releases)