Ash Wednesday
by Elvis Perkins
  • Record Label: XL
  • Release Date: Feb 20, 2007
User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 16 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 16
  3. Negative: 1 out of 16

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  1. JoeyS
    Apr 26, 2007
    10
    Album of the year. A must own...
  2. andreb
    Apr 16, 2007
    10
    Saw 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.
  3. vanessab
    Apr 2, 2007
    10
    Ash Wednesday is written with lyrics that are poetic and ponderous yet limpid like the music itself. Nothing feels fake in his voice or his lyrics or his music. Its truely a classic you'll find different meanings to in different stages or moments in your life.
  4. JayS
    Mar 11, 2007
    10
    Saw him opening for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah in London in Feb'07 (a month ago) and was impressed. His debut is very understated and takes a few listens, but you'll end up loving it. Very very good debut... Plus he seems like a very nice chap too!
  5. MattM
    Mar 2, 2007
    10
    One of the strongest debuts in recent memory. These songs will stay with you long after the record ends.
  6. SKRII
    Mar 1, 2007
    10
    Absolutely stunning. A rare breed among folk artists, and all types of music for that matter: emotional sincerity. You can tell while listening to this album that the artist truly means every word he sings. And the emotions are perfectly augmented by the flourishes of the quirky instruments in these arrangements. I will be listening to this music for the rest of my life, while Coldplay Absolutely stunning. A rare breed among folk artists, and all types of music for that matter: emotional sincerity. You can tell while listening to this album that the artist truly means every word he sings. And the emotions are perfectly augmented by the flourishes of the quirky instruments in these arrangements. I will be listening to this music for the rest of my life, while Coldplay and Arcade Fire will have dimmed from memory.… Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. Under The Radar
    70
    Although 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]
  2. AllMusic
    70
    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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  3. Boston Globe
    70
    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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