When last seen playing on these fair shores, Mr. Will Oldham (AKA Bonnie Billy or whatever he's decided to call himself this morning) was touring with the 1999 album I See A Darkness. Lest we forget, this classic collection of skewered folk was runner up to The Flaming Lips' The Soft Bulletin in the HotPress Critics' Album Poll of the Twentieth Century.

Expect Ease Down The Road to similarly sweep the boards when it comes to the Album of the Month/Week/Hour accolades this March. True to its title, Ease Down The Road is a gorgeously smooth and deftly understated sonic experience, best appreciated in a cosy shack out there somewhere, but genius in its mercurial ability to turn wherever you are listening to it into a cosy shack. Oldham spits old timeless standards of love, from twisted vignettes to kooky carnal celebrations, suffused with a blissed out atmosphere of post-coital calm. Surprising perhaps for the more casual of Oldham listeners, but welcome and expected news for seasoned Palace spotters familiar with his songs of sexuality, from dark odes concerning grisly topics such as incest to comic numbers in the best traditions of schoolboy-style titillation.
Oldham is on the end of a phoneline in Georgia, and when complimented on another fine achievement with Ease Down The Road, merely responds: "Well, tell me again after you've listened to it for six months or a year. It's even too soon to tell for myself. I find recording is a fairly pressured situation usually. I always find it strange when preparing to release a record. It s something that s enjoyable at times, but it s something that requires getting into shape for, and I don't know if that is the healthiest thing to get one's mind in shape for 'cos it means trying to understand and to be able to converse on things that you don't even think about ever. Like why the record sounds the way it does or where the songs came from for example."
Oldham's many Irish fans will receive a unique opportunity to hear new Bonnie material this month in Vicar St, when Oldham performs live alongside Slint/Tortoise/Papa M alt-legend David Pajo.
"We've only played one double bill before," explains Oldham. "That was in Seattle a couple of years ago. It went great. It was the day after Lady Di was killed. We played with a Japanese band called Ghost. It was a really good show. When we do these performances with other artists, we instigate the bill ourselves. I have really fond memories of the last couple of times playing in Dublin and the last time playing in Cork (Liss Ard Festival). The long road starts in March with the full release of the album. So, this is a sort of isolated trip. The tour starts in Europe and then moves here (the States) in the summer time."
On the subject of studio collaborations tucked away from the hurly-burly grind of the live circuit, there is much excited talk of Oldham going into the studio with PJ Harvery and Bjork, both of whom belong to his ever-growing celebrity fanclub that now includes Johnny Cash and Bobby Gillespie.
"I hope that there is a recording made sometime in the next couple of months with PJ Harvey,", answers Oldham. "As far as the Bjork thing, we've just met a couple of times. She has recorded a song that has some sort of relation to a song that a friend of mine wrote that has my name in the title. I don't know how to feel about that, but I've heard the song. It sounded quite good."
Why is Oldham choosing to bill himself as Bonnie Billy for his forthcoming Irish one-off?
Does this constant urge to come up with numerous noms de plume reveal a deeply ingrained personal case of nameophobia?
"I guess I don't quite understand why people have to live by the names that their parents gave them, or why people choose to live by the names that their parents gave them," opines OIdham. "It doesn't seem like any name suits anything for any long time, including proper nouns for common items."
Therefore, if or when Oldham is entrusted with christening a child, would he encourage the newly born to invent their own identities? "I would say I would call him Tom until he could come up with something better. It would have to be something he could improve upon. Your name's not Tom right? (Oldham laughs for the first time during this conversation).
No offense taken, Will. No Toms around these parts. And what would you call a girl? "A girl? I dunno. Jill? What's a non-name for a girl? 'Girl' or 'Boy' maybe. I'm not going to have any children. However if there are women out there who want to raise them and pay for them then that s fine by me. I'll gladly provide the seed."
Does this mean that Will would consider himself poor parent material, over-reluctant if not totally unwilling to put any roots down? "I just think I'd be the kind of father who would be held wholly accountable by the government for negligence. It would probably be because of never speaking more than a single syllable to the kid at a time."
Since we've established that child-rearing is not high on the Oldham agenda, what are his genuine hopes for the future? With another tour and exceedingly fine album in the bag, plus a host of exciting collaborations to add to that Johnny Cash 'I See A Darkness' duet, where will this crazy road take him?
"I'll take it as it comes," replies Will. "Ease is the word for 2001. Everything is going to come easily. It s the keyword for everyone. I've given it to everyone."

Will Oldham will ease down the road to Vicar St on Sunday 21st January for the first Family event of 2001, featuring Bonnie Billy and Papa M Sings alongside local troubadour Paul O'Reilly. Tickets priced #12 are available now. Ease Down The Road will be available on Domino Records as in from March 11th 2001.