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is still the same Perkins who turned misery into moving music several years ago, but he's learned to dress up those sentiments in engaging Americana attire, a move that softens the blow but rarely cheapens the art.
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Perkins' funereal, imagistic pull still haunts the album, but bolstered into the Elvis Perkins in Dearland fourpiece, the eponymous LP lopes with a processional gait.
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Perkins freewheels through American music traditions—Haight-Ashbury folk ('Hey'), New Orleans brass ('Doomsday'), junkyard blues ('I’ll Be Arriving')--with arrangements as rich as a pawn-shop display.
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It’ll play huge at the Troubadour. It’s just that, as much orchestration clearly went into this record, it seems content to be merely “well done,” when the opening two tracks make it absolutely, exhilaratingly clear that there’s more than that at stake here.
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Tackling weighty themes and wrestling difficult truths with aplomb, it ultimately emerges triumphant.
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FilterPerkins is joined by a three-piece ensemble of multi-instrumentalists that do a great deal to boost his soulful ballads with circus-like arrangements, while putting a little extra pep in his step. [Winter 2009, p.96]
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Comprising organ, piano, upright bass and acoustic guitars, as well as the occasional fiddle or burst of New Orleans brass, the music wheezes and strolls with old-timey authenticity.
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MojoWhen the quality is this high, Perkins can sing the pain away for as long as he needs. [May 2009, p.101]
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There are bound to be some people that just don't get it. For those that do, you are looking at a sure contender for your album of the year.
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Perkins clearly has stories to tell of difficult journeys travelled, but unfortunately it comes across as yet another Yank putting out the roadside campfire with dribble from his harmonica.
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The intricate vocal arrangements and alluring harmonica parts of opener 'Shampoo' grab the listener with bright potential, while 'Hey' is a lovely upbeat duet with Lavender Diamond’s Becky Stark.
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Here, he dresses his music in full regalia--with whistles, horns, organs and marching-band drums--and it’s exquisite.
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Decent as these tracks are, the rest of the album never quite lives up to 'Shampoo's' potential.
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Elvis Perkins in Dearland is an amusement park ride. It is more than a fan would expect from a sophomore effort, and likely to wind up on many a critic’s “top ten” list.
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Perkins has proven himself to be a versatile, surprising and compelling songwriter. On Elvis Perkins In Dearland, he walks the thin line between charming entertainer and confessional songwriter beautifully.
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Q MagazineElvis Perkins in Dearland is more than good enough. [May 2009, p.117]
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Perkins hasn't entirely moved on, but now there's a proper band behind him, and there's celebration in the music--strings, New Orleans horns and distorted blues rock.
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A ponderous chain-gang stomp and some misty lyrics outline his limitations, but once again, Perkins' loss is our gain.
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Perkins's simple, folk-hymn melodies are helped along by New Orleans brass, harmonica, B-3 organ, and harmonium, their trumpeting and wheezing sounds adding levity to blunt statements.
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Much like his 2007 debut, "Ash Wednesday," Perkins speaks through characters and, more importantly, though his musical arrangements to present a nuanced approach to musing on mortality and loss and loneliness.
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UncutThe result, inevitably, feels much more like a live band at work. [May 2009, p.95]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 11 out of 12
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Mixed: 0 out of 12
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Negative: 1 out of 12
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Nov 24, 2012