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FilterThere's something about this album... that takes listeners by the hand, smacks them into reality and reminds them they're still alive. [#24, p.90]
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Few albums made in recent memory sound this harrowing or this painful, yet even fewer have such a true sense of catharsis.
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Entertainment WeeklyPerkins' songs are neither maudlin nor exploitative--just quietly lovely. [2 Mar 2007, p.67]
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The New York TimesA remarkably beautiful elegy. [26 Feb 2007]
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At its best, Ash Wednesday recalls the command of Arcade Fire's Funeral, as Perkins finds empathy through his whimsy-fueled, sad-bastard songs of experience.
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These harrowing tales of woe are not only good enough to stand on their own but exceed our highest expectations.
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Not much has gone Perkins's way in the past 15 years. Now, though, at a time when few singer-songwriters bear comparison with their predecessors, when grief this raw all too rarely begets pleasure, you cannot help but feel that his luck is about to change.
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If you’re not in the mood for it, Perkins’s uncut melancholy can be a lot to swallow. Still, this is one of the prettiest bummers around.
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Under The RadarAlthough Ash Wednesday ultimately suffers from Perkins' seeming indecision about whether to make a serioius or silly record, it is a listenable and noteworthy debut. [#16, p.94]
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Perkins avoids reveling in depression and instead follows the route that other singer/songwriters like Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, and Bob Dylan have put down before him, telling detail-driven stories of people and life.
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The touchstones (Cohen, Dylan, Morrison, Yorke, Brion, "Hunky Dory"-era Bowie) are obvious as the album progresses, too obvious at times, but Perkins has his own stories to tell, and he often does so in a mesmerizing fashion.
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Most tracks stick to a downbeat, acoustic-folk template, although "May Day!" sounds like a lost Neutral Milk Hotel hoedown.
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With Ash Wednesday, Elvis Perkins has emerged as an assured, fully-formed cosmopolitan able to merge readily recognizable influences with a sense of theatre too often missing from the legion of similarly-intentioned performers.
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Both dream-like and slightly brutal in its approach, Ash Wednesday is a rare folk-rock LP, drenched in equal parts sunshine and cloudy grey skies.
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When so many performers are trying to push the boundaries, sometimes it's nice to have something so plain and straightforward.
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Ultimately, though, there's no transcendence for Perkins or the listener, making Ash Wednesday a tough listen with limited rewards.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 15 out of 16
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Mixed: 0 out of 16
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Negative: 1 out of 16
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JoeySApr 26, 2007Album of the year. A must own...
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andrebApr 16, 2007Saw him open in Montreal on Friday April 13, 2007 for Clap your hand. He blew me away. I got his cd and it is truly great. Reminds me of David Gray.
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vanessabApr 2, 2007