Pitchfork

According to Daytrotter, Bonnie "Prince" Billy re-recorded this new album track in the studio on a stormy Sunday night. Given his haunting, plaintive delivery, I'd have assumed that's how he always works. Will Oldham established himself as a master of the ominous on his I See a Darkness album-- something about his vocals that sound more spoken than sung, his hair-raising moan almost too intense for words. On "The Seedling", he doesn't stray too far from that mood or form. Every note he sings is a painful struggle to extract, every guitar chord sounds half-heartedly pulled out, as if he's not yet ready to play, as if the Daytrotter folks forced him into the studio. You can hear the occasional out-of-place note here, a strained vocal delivery there, both flaws that actually contribute to the prevailing melancholy and a disquieting experience overall.