Folk

The latest incarnation of the band has been touring for more than 20 years, including founding member Bill Payne. Shaun Murphy, who played with the band since 1993, appearing on five albums, left the band this past February and will not be replaced.

Despite the foreboding title and bleak black and white cover art -- a curious nod to the first Danzig album -- Bonnie "Prince" Billy's Beware is an inviting entry into Will Oldham's haunting repertoire.

But a closer look reveals the layers of dark imagery hiding inside some of Oldham's most gorgeous, complex songs about the nature of love, happiness and existential rumination. Each song serves a cautionary tale, arriving as a Trojan horse that charms with a comfortable glow before opening up to expose its damaged character. The bucolic, acoustic strum and declaration -- "I want to be your only friend" -- that opens the album on "Beware Your Only Friend" suggests something more destructive than the naïve affections evoked by Oldham's words and sweet voice.

Got an email from State Media with their updated concert announcements and I literally gasped aloud when I saw that Bon Iver (the moniker of Wisconsin singer/songwriter Justin Vernon) will be making his way down to FLA before hitting Bonarroo, and will play State Theatre Wednesday, June 10. Bon Iver's stunning, austerely beautiful For Emma Forever Ago was No. 2 on my top 10 album of '08 list, Vernon a vocalist who takes your breathe away with his delicate, soulful falsetto.

With nearly two decades of do-it-yourself ethics behind her, it's no wonder Ani DiFranco's name has become synonymous with the word "indie" in the music world. She started the hard way -- get in a van and drive from gig to gig until you have enough money to put out an album. Eventually, she started a label, Righteous Babe, and it's been that way ever since -- tour, record, release a new album; repeat.

Another year, another posthumous release from Elliott Smith. An album's worth of unfinished recordings and outtakes from From A Basement On The Hill has leaked.

The Deal: Willie Nelson joins up with Asleep at the Wheel for a collection of songs picked by the late Jerry Wexler.

Turns out that road-dog R&B singer Southside Johnny Lyon has long had a soft spot for the music of Tom Waits. Instead of trying to cop Waits' avant-gardisms, though, Southside put his own stamp the material by singing over big band arrangements by Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg.

For today's Roll Call we call out Jennifer O'Connor.

Who are you?
I am Jennifer O'Connor.

Describe yourself in three words.
Honest. Loving.  Sleepy.

Who -- dead or alive -- would you most like to meet?
Kanye West.

Who would you most like to slap in the face?
No one.

What song do you wish you had written?
"When Doves Cry."

Elvis Costello or Elvis Presley?
Costello.

LP, CD or MP3?
Like them all.  But probably CD.

A subtle but self-effacing tone hides in Athens songstress Madeline Adams' laugh when she admits that her third full-length, White Flag, isn't a "happy" album. But the CD -- due out March 10 via Elf Power's Orange Twin Records -- isn't a pit of despair, either. The album was recorded over a three-year period. As a result, it's difficult to identify one sweeping theme that ties it all together -- other than, as the title suggests, a general feeling of surrender. But redemption, rather than defeat, holds stronger sway over her gorgeous strumming and affecting voice. "I'm tired of hurting people and tired of hurting," she says. "I wanted the record to be this 'I want this feeling to be over' kind of thing."

For Today's Roll Call we call out Adron.

Who are you?
Adron and Adrienne McCann. My broham calls me Binky.

Describe yourself in three words.
Paradeluvian, teleotropic, onaneiric.

Who -- dead or alive -- would you most like to meet?
David Foster Wallace.

Who would you most like to slap in the face?
People who smoke cigarettes and tell me that Veganism and psychedelics are unhealthy.

What song do you wish you had written?
"Ave Maria" by Franz Peter Schubert.