Elvis Perkins - Ash Wednesday

It seems that Elvis Perkins has been plagued with tragedy for some part of his life. I can only imagine what it must have been like on the playground, so many years ago, when the other children found out that little Elvis’ father was the Norman Bates. But I am sure those childhood teasings and haunted, midnight nightmares of good old pop dressing up like grandmother were nothing compared to the loss of his mother. On September 11, 2001, Elvis’ mother happened to be on one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center towers. Struggling with the pain of a mother’s unfortunate death and the aftermath of scar tissue in the American heart must be seen as a catalyst to the formation of Elvis’ recent release Ash Wednesday.

A collection of sorrowful tunes, Ash Wednesday, is an album filled with character of a man choosing to live through life despite being bombarded by reminders of past sadness. Sometimes teetering on an Americana version of Devotchka, Elvis hides his voice in verse and lyric until he releases into a controlled emotional reaction and the audience loses focus on what is being said and is only attune to how the song is being sung. During those moments, most prominent on the title track, no one even cares that he is the son of a famous father and the music takes center stage.

[mp3] Elvis Perkins – Ash Wednesday

3/23/07 – Los Angeles @ Jensen RecCenter Studio (tix)
3/24/07 – Los Angeles @ Largo (tix)

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