I Made a Place

I Made a Place
A thick red border around a photo of a butterfly with the album and artist name in black hand-written script
Studio album by
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
ReleasedNovember 15, 2019 (2019-11-15)
StudioDowntown Recording, Louisville, Kentucky, United States
GenreIndie folk[1]
Length43:34
LabelDrag City/Domino
ProducerMark Nevers[2]
Bonnie "Prince" Billy chronology
Wolf of the Cosmos
(2018) 		I Made a Place
(2019)

I Made a Place is a 2019 album by Bonnie "Prince" Billy, the stage name of American indie folk musician Will Oldham. It was released to positive critical reception.

Recording

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The songs that make up I Made a Place were recorded by Oldham with producer Mark Nevers; the duo originally considered making a Ramones cover album but after the death of David Berman, they went back to original songs.[2] These compositions were recorded with no intention on releasing an album.[2]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.8/10[3]
Metacritic82/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
American Songwriter[6]
Exclaim!8/10[7]
The Guardian[8]
MusicOMH[9]
NME[10]
Pitchfork7.1/10[1]

The editorial staff of AllMusic gave the album 3.5 out of five stars, with reviewer Fred Thomas concluding that it is made up of solid songwriting but stating, "While no less emotionally dense than that or any of Oldham's work, I Made a Place feels less intense, and even fun by comparison".[5] Kitty Empire of The Observer gave it four out of five stars, for the moving quality of Oldham's lyrics and in particular his investigation of solitude.[8] Sal Sodomsky of Pitchfork awarded the album 7.1 out of 10 for what he wrote was one of Oldham's most "complicated" albums.[1] Stereogum named it album of the week, with Tom Breihan calling the songs "security-blanket music, and it's lovely".[11]

Accolades

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Accolades for I Made a Place
Publication Accolade Rank
Slant Magazine[12] Top 25 Albums of 2019 25
Uncut[13] Top 75 Albums of 2019 39

Track listing

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All songs written by Bonnie "Prince" Billy

  1. "New Memory Box" – 3:01
  2. "Dream Awhile" – 3:31
  3. "The Devil's Throat" – 3:33
  4. "Look Backward on Your Future, Look Forward to Your Past" – 3:55
  5. "I Have Made a Place" – 3:39
  6. "Squid Eye" – 2:46
  7. "You Know the One" – 3:37
  8. "This Is Far from Over" – 2:46
  9. "Nothing Is Busted" – 4:33
  10. "Mama Mama" – 2:32
  11. "The Glow, Pt. 3" – 3:22
  12. "Thick Air" – 2:41
  13. "Building a Fire" – 3:38

Personnel

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Charts

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Chart performance for I Made a Place
Chart (2019) Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[14] 56
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[15] 114
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] 87
Scottish Albums (OCC)[17] 58
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 93

References

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  1. ^ a b c Sodomsky, Sal (November 15, 2019). "Bonnie 'Prince' Billy: I Made a Place". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Khanna, Vish (November 18, 2019). "Bonnie 'Prince' Billy on Recording Others' Songs, Mourning David Berman and Long-Awaited I Made a Place". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  3. ^ "AnyDecentMusic? Review". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  4. ^ "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Thomas, Fred. "I Made a Place – Bonnie 'Prince' Billy". AllMusic. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  6. ^ Rutledge, Chris (November 13, 2019). "Album Review: I Made a Place Is a Definitive Home Run". American Songwriter. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  7. ^ Mullin, Kyle (November 15, 2019). "Exclaim! Review". Exclaim!. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  8. ^ a b Empire, Kitty (November 17, 2019). "Bonnie 'Prince' Billy: I Made a Place Review – Older, Wiser and Happier". Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  9. ^ Newington, Mark (November 17, 2019). "MusicOMH Review". MusicOMH. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  10. ^ Cooper, Leonie (November 15, 2019). "I Made a Place Review: The Influential Underground Icon's Comeback Is a Soft, Sumptuous Delight". NME. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  11. ^ Breihan, Tom (November 12, 2019). "Album of the Week: Bonnie "Prince" Billy I Made a Place". Stereogum. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  12. ^ "The 25 Best Albums of 2019". Slant Magazine. December 12, 2019. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  13. ^ "Uncut's 75 Best Albums of 2019". Album of the Year. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  14. ^ "Prince"+Billy&titel=I+Have+Made+a+Place&cat=a "Austriancharts.at – Bonnie "Prince" Billy – I Have Made a Place" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  15. ^ "Prince"+Billy&titel=I+Have+Made+a+Place&cat=a "Ultratop.be – Bonnie "Prince" Billy – I Have Made a Place" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  16. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Bonnie "Prince" Billy – I Have Made a Place" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  17. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  18. ^ "Prince"+Billy&titel=I+Have+Made+a+Place&cat=a "Swisscharts.com – Bonnie "Prince" Billy – I Have Made a Place". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
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