Will Oldham is often depicted as an enigmatic, headstrong solo artist, which seems to be true in part. But don’t forget that he’s also one of the most open-minded and prolific collaborators around. In the past year alone, Bonnie’s teamed up with Dawn McCarthy, Mark Kozelek, Santiparro, Doug Paisley, and many, many more, with each project leaning just as much toward his partners’ sound as his own oeuvre. The latest collaboration is with Watter, a post-rock outfit featuring members of Slint (Britt Walford), Grails (Zak Riles), and King Crimson (Tony Levin). They’re calling themselves, cleverly, Bonnie Stillwatter, and their record, The Death Is People, arrives alongside a limited-edition beer by Stillwater Artisanal in a few weeks. The result, per above’s title track, is a rousing, cinematic cut that — par for Oldham’s course — melds both worlds quite seamlessly.
Meanwhile, Oldham has a new fan in the Walkmen’s Hamilton Leithauser, who recently performed this nice crooning acoustic cover of “Trudy Dies”: