Bonnie “Prince” Billy announces his first album in under a year, positioning We Are Together Again as both an artistic statement and a defiant act of joy in a world facing “a change of worlds.”
Less than a year after the release of The Purple Bird, the artist known as Bonnie “Prince” Billy has announced a new studio album, We Are Together Again, set for release on March 6. The announcement, made via an Instagram post from Domino Recording Co., arrives with a lead single, “They Keep Trying to Find You,” and a music video directed by Abi Elliot.
More Than Music: An Album as a Statement
The album’s announcement carries a weighty philosophical message, framing the project as a direct response to contemporary anxieties. The caption describes the current era as “a change of worlds” but positions Oldham’s work as a form of defiance. “We Are Together Again feels like an answer,” it states. “In Oldham’s songs… friendship, community, and the stubborn joy of making art with others become a means of persistence.”
This isn’t a retreat from reality but an active engagement with it. The statement clarifies that this perspective is “a kind of defiance: remaining fully human, fully joyful, in a world with a diminishing horizon.” For an artist with a career spanning over three decades, this positions the new album as one of his most conceptually direct works.
The Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy Legacy
Will Oldham, the 55-year-old musician behind the moniker, has been a cornerstone of the American folk and indie scenes since the early 1990s. He began his recording career under variations of the name Palace before solidifying his identity as Bonnie “Prince” Billy in 1998 with the release of I See a Darkness.
That album became a landmark in his career, particularly after the late Johnny Cash recorded a powerful cover of the title track for his American III: Solitary Man album. This endorsement from a country music legend brought Oldham’s deeply poetic and often dark songwriting to a much wider audience.
Despite a prolific output of over 25 albums, Oldham’s relationship with the modern music industry is complex. As he explained in a 2023 interview with The Guardian, his extensive catalog is largely absent from Spotify due to his disagreement with the platform’s treatment of musicians. This stance reinforces his reputation as an artist guided by principle over commercial convenience.
What to Expect from ‘We Are Together Again’
The new album was recorded at End of an Ear Studios in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, with his longtime collaborator, producer and engineer Jim Marlowe. This continuity suggests a consolidation of the sound he has been refining for years—a blend of folk, country, and indie rock centered on his distinctive, wavering vocals and literary lyricism.
The release of the lead single and its choreographed music video indicates a thoughtful, multi-faceted rollout. The title itself, We Are Together Again, echoes the communal theme central to the album’s announcement, potentially signaling a more uplifting or connective body of work compared to some of his more solitary earlier recordings.
Fans can pre-order the album now in digital, vinyl, and CD formats. Additionally, a live performance is scheduled for January 26 at St Giles Church in London, offering an early, intimate glimpse of the new material.
Why This Album Matters Now
In an entertainment landscape often dominated by fleeting trends, the consistent, principled output of an artist like Bonnie “Prince” Billy serves as an anchor. His decision to release new music so quickly after his last project demonstrates a prolific creative drive. More importantly, the conscious framing of this album as an act of joyful persistence provides a resonant narrative for listeners navigating similar feelings of uncertainty.
It transforms the album from a simple collection of songs into a statement of purpose, a quality that has long defined the most enduring works in the folk tradition.
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