9. Superwolf (w/ Matt Sweeney) (2005)

Even though only a couple of these songs have drums, Superwolf is the closest thing Will Oldham has to an arena rock album. With the help of Chavez guitarist Matt Sweeney, Superwolf takes some of Oldham’s most intimate and darkest lyrics and renders them in widescreen. As a result, the album’s complex themes of sexuality and abandonment are magnified instead of getting lost in the hugeness of it all (more Terence Malick than Michael Bay).

On songs like “My Home Is The Sea,” Sweeney’s classic rock-inspired riffage is a welcome companion to Oldham’s folk poetry, resulting in the best album late-era Neil Young never made. Sweeney also knows when you hold back as on “Beast For Thee” where the gorgeous music acts as a counterpart to Oldham’s softly savage lyrics. But the best is saved for the gripping penultimate track, “Blood Embrace,” which charts the dissolution of a relationship gutted by jealousy and insecurity.

Compared to the disastrous Sings Greatest Palace Music, where too much instrumentation killed any chance for intimacy and authenticity, Superwolf strikes the perfect balance, projecting the contents of Oldham’s brain onto a grand canvas.