Will Oldham's place in history will be cemented in the montage hall; wedged somewhere between Whiskeytown and Edith Frost, a freshly carved stone will read "Will Oldham aka Palace aka Bonnie 'Prince' Billy aka Bonny Billy combined the early '90s lo-fi aesthetic with the unassuming -- get to the point -- structure of the heartland's greatest country songwriters." Of course, Oldham's ability to construct music that matters in a genre that seemingly doesn't (at least as far as much of his potential audience is concerned) indicates opposing forces at work; after all, you'll never see Tim McGraw or John Philips gain underground acclaim.

Newly rechristened Bonny Billy (it beats 0{+>, I guess), Oldham gives us More Revery. The aptly titled ode to influence is an Ira Kaplan grab bag of covers running the musical gamut from P.J. Harvey to John Holt. Originally released as a tour-only EP, the disc, now available "over the counter", is some of the best material the Bonny Billy camp has released in years.

The album opens with a cover of "Someone's Sleeping", by Mamas and Papas founder John Philips. The short piano ballad recalls Oldham's somber and stately perspectives, with a contemporary slant that tilts its thematic head towards the more subdued Palace efforts.

The album's standout track comes next -- a version of P.J. Harvey's "Sweeter Than Anything". While the band keeps with the Polly Jean dynamics, the song is stripped of its original precision and the production is fuzzed up a little. These minute alterations give the track an entirely new feel, while retaining the uninhibited emotion and "I'm mad and I'm not going to take it!" attitude that made it great in the first place.

The rest of the album follows in the same style, matching Oldham's vocal repose with an unhindered melodic intensity and giving new life to a collection of songs that had been written off for years. The only notable disappointment is John Holt's "Strange Things", in which Oldham's usual vocal excellence is so drenched in irksome reverb effects that the melody is stripped of any plausible value.