Elvis Perkins

Ash Wednesday (XL)
by Tim Den

There’s really no better description for Elvis Perkins than “singer/songwriter,” but putting him in the same genre as Bright Eyes and Sufjan Stevens would be an insult. No, Perkins leans far closer to the heart of the craft than most of his peers, able to use the same ol’ tried-and-true chord progressions to compose Neutral Milk Hotel-worthy slices of plaintive beauty and power. He sings, not whines (Bright Eyes); he creates muscular melodies, not vague meandering (Sufjan Stevens). He comes up with exciting new vocal passages without abandoning the genre’s understated traits, all the while fearlessly pronouncing every lyric as if he’s a scholar defying whoever said “mumbling is cool.” Put him alongside American Music Club, Red House Painters, and Crowded House because he knows how it’s really done, motherfucker. If talent is not what you look for in your music, turn around right now and go home.
(www.xlrecordings.com)