Bonnie Prince Billy

***Rooted in the same dark earth as Wolfroy Goes to Town, the two songs that make up the“The B-Sides for ‘Time to be Clear’ 7" single reach higher peaks, as sides of singles always should. Ever the trail-razer, BONNIE PRINCE BILLY hops into something funny here: a three-song 7" single with its head chopped off! Rather than try something silly like put the songs on a larger format, the b-sides are accorded the space they need to rock and groove while the A-side exists in our head, an echo of the epic, endless album that was Wolfroy Goes to Town. Starting with a familiar weary tone and limping gait-lessness, “Whipped,” quickly ascends to heights of emoting vocals not encountered throughout the entire album that preceded it. The comfy bob-and-strut of 21st century honky-tonk gives “Out of Mind” a sweet jukebox feeling, again creating a safe place for naked expression to occur in short order. Yes, the pleasures are fairly immense here, in the way that only two songs can provide.