Today marks the release of Bonnie “Prince” Billy‘s Ghosts of American Psychonauts (Domino Records). The eight-song set was recorded at The Pico Union Project in Los Angeles over Valentine’s Day weekend 2025, just a few weeks after the release of The Purple Bird. Filmed by Brian Vernor during that weekend, watch their powerful transformation of Trees of Hell.
Alex Neilson reviewed the album for KLOF Mag; this is what he said about Trees of Hell:
His recent touring band of Jacob Duncan (saxophone/ flute) and Thomas Deakin (electric guitar/ clarinet) have been augmented by previous collaborators Emmett Kelly (bass) and D.V. DeVincentis (saxophone) alongside Ryder McNair (piano), Patrick Shiroishi (saxophone) and the spectacularly named London May (drums). And while that might seem like a lot of woodwind, they combine to transform Trees of Hell from the subdued menace of the album version to an apocalyptic sonic memorial to the recent wildfires which ripped through the Californian hills. Kelly holds down a repeated refrain while the brass section spew magma and Oldham warns against the environmental peril of human folly, like a hallucinating evangelical preacher.
Neilson concludes:
They say “never meet your heroes”, but when that person has guided and shaped and confounded and extended your understanding of what music can be, then it becomes a life-defining privilege. They also say “Talent is hitting a target no one else can hit. Genius is hitting a target no one else can see”. The fact that Oldham has eviscerated and recapitulated his own songbook so many times, in such unexpected ways, is a receipt to his genius. Ghosts of American Psychonauts is a compelling addition to this ongoing project of self-actualisation. May it always be.
Ghosts of American Psychonauts is available on black vinyl, CD and digitally.
Upcoming live dates
Wednesday 23rd September – Blue Jay Listening Room, Jacksonville Beach, US
Thursday 24th September – Blue Jay Listening Room, Jacksonville Beach, US
Friday 25th September – Lyceum Concert Hall at Santa Fe College, Gainesville, US
Saturday 26th September – Pugh Theater, Orlando, US
Sunday 27th September – Bayboro Brewing, St. Petersburg, US
Monday 19th October – The Ark, Ann Arbor, US
Tuesday 10th November – Ancienne Belgique, Brussels, BE
Wednesday 11th November – Koninklijk Theater Carre, Amsterdam, NL
Friday 13th November – O2 Institute, Birmingham, UK
Saturday 14th November – The Fire Station, Sunderland, UK
Sunday 15th November – The Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, UK
Monday 16th November – Albert Hall, Manchester, UK
Tuesday 17th November – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, UK
Tuesday 1st December – La Rosa, Tuscon, US
Wednesday 2nd December – San Miguel Chapel, Santa Fe, US – SOLD OUT
Thursday 3rd December – San Miguel Chapel, Santa Fe, US – SOLD OUT
Friday 4th December – South Broadway Cultural Center, Albuquerque, US
Tuesday 26th January – The Unknown, Anacortes, US – SOLD OUT
Wednesday 27th January – Capital Ballroom, Victoria, CA
Thursday 28th January – Hollywood Theater, Vancouver, CA
Friday 29th January – Tractor Tavern, Seattle, US – early show
Friday 29th January – Tractor Tavern, Seattle, US – late show
Saturday 30th January – Aladdin Theater, Portland, US
Sunday 31st January – Aladdin Theater, Portland, US