Elvis Perkins: Trauma translated to hopefulness
Music Review
Samir Roy
Issue date: 5/19/09 Section: Entertainment
Its the kind of album whose bottomless depths and astounding highs can only sharpen with time.
His live shows have created quite a stir since long before XL Records signed him. Performed with his virtuosic band Elvis Perkins in Dearland, the shows, like the intimate in-store event at M-Theory this past weekend, cast en enveloping net of ferocious energy and spontaneity over the audience whether in a crowded music store or an official venue like West Hollywood's Troubadour.
Nothing is ever straight on. Every performance is different because it is lived in the moment. It is equally rare for a band to never betray a hint of generic rehearsed phrasing.
There is always a surprising twist in the vocals or the instrumentation that catches the songs' lyrical and melodic progressions in unexpected ways, followed by the band's invitation to the crowd to join in during the chorus.
There is a feeling of genuine belief in the words and chords of these songs, as opposed to musicians merely memorizing them, and the tangible joy of performing ignites them so much that the audience cannot fail to feel that warmth.
It is equally impressive that the ban retained this spirit within the confines of one corner of M-Theory Music while managing a harmonium, a saxophone, trombone, cymbals, marching band drum, upright bass, acoustic and electric guitars, as well as the accoutrement of literal bells and whistles.
The still-fresh tragedies coalescing in the dream-like lyrics that paint
a canvas of fires, waking life, airplanes and whimsical fantasy on "Ash Wednesday" give way to imagery composed of lovers armed with cross-bows, foliage sprouting from rubble and debris, country settings with mills, honey and hay, on Elvis Perkins in Dearland's self-titled recording debut as a group.
The first album's eclectic instrumentation, all recorded in Perkins' home, created a world where heartache and healing came to life in a whir of glockenspiel, beer-bottle organ, musical saw, harmonium, electric and acoustic guitars, tympanies, xylophones, horns and fiddles.
His live shows have created quite a stir since long before XL Records signed him. Performed with his virtuosic band Elvis Perkins in Dearland, the shows, like the intimate in-store event at M-Theory this past weekend, cast en enveloping net of ferocious energy and spontaneity over the audience whether in a crowded music store or an official venue like West Hollywood's Troubadour.
Nothing is ever straight on. Every performance is different because it is lived in the moment. It is equally rare for a band to never betray a hint of generic rehearsed phrasing.
There is always a surprising twist in the vocals or the instrumentation that catches the songs' lyrical and melodic progressions in unexpected ways, followed by the band's invitation to the crowd to join in during the chorus.
There is a feeling of genuine belief in the words and chords of these songs, as opposed to musicians merely memorizing them, and the tangible joy of performing ignites them so much that the audience cannot fail to feel that warmth.
It is equally impressive that the ban retained this spirit within the confines of one corner of M-Theory Music while managing a harmonium, a saxophone, trombone, cymbals, marching band drum, upright bass, acoustic and electric guitars, as well as the accoutrement of literal bells and whistles.
The still-fresh tragedies coalescing in the dream-like lyrics that paint
a canvas of fires, waking life, airplanes and whimsical fantasy on "Ash Wednesday" give way to imagery composed of lovers armed with cross-bows, foliage sprouting from rubble and debris, country settings with mills, honey and hay, on Elvis Perkins in Dearland's self-titled recording debut as a group.
The first album's eclectic instrumentation, all recorded in Perkins' home, created a world where heartache and healing came to life in a whir of glockenspiel, beer-bottle organ, musical saw, harmonium, electric and acoustic guitars, tympanies, xylophones, horns and fiddles.
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