The Wake

Elvis Perkins grew up surrounded by fame and suffering. This 32-year-old singer- songwriter lost his father, Tony Perkins (most famous for his role as Norman Bates in Hitchcock’s Psycho), to AIDS in 1992. It was a very public, controversial death due to the homosexual pretenses of his affliction. Elvis’s mother, Berry Berenson, was on American Airlines Flight 11 when it was hijacked and flown in to the one of the World Trade Center towers on 9/11. His new album, Ash Wednesday, released on its namesake has been in the works since 2002. It’s a mix of songs written before and after his mother’s death, and is ordered chronologically as thus.

Overbearing themes are a sometimes coated, often times proclaimed, sullenness and a search for explanations and meaning. The disc opener, “While You Were Sleeping,” is a lullaby of sorts. His questioning voice reaches out, ultimately sinking into a softened blend of mournful strings and muted trumpets. It’s destined to get your toe tapping and leave you wanting more. Next up, a mystical, dare I say Hasidic bass line plucks alongside a lonely Perkins on, “All The Night Without Love.” A chasing violin follows Perkins down a bridge of substitute syllables. On “May Day!,” Perkins fronts a booming chorus at the close of his most smiling venture. Many a lyric is spent alluding to the sky above and the hidden heavens concealed within. The remainder of the album digs deeper and deeper into this distinguishable longing, though the music doesn’t suffer along with him. Cooing choruses and thoughtful strumming accompanied by his unique arrangements create an ethereal anguish, and it’s as genuine a musical experience as one could hope for.

I give this album an 8.8 on Carl’s, less callous than Pitchfork and more consistent than Rolling Stone, scale of review

Perkins has most recently been opening for My Morning Jacket, and will play the 400 bar on April 5th.