Ash Wednesday

by

Elvis Perkins

Edit

It seems impossible for me to come up with one negative thing to say about this album. It is fantastic. I bought it basically on a whim, not knowing who he was aside from a brief interview I read, not hearing but a small clip of his music. I do this sort of thing all the time with varying degrees of success; but sometimes you just get lucky. For me, this isn't just a good cd that I will enjoy from time to time, but rather the kind I will be listening to non-stop for a good couple of months. The melodies are beautiful and the lyrics are intelligent. Though the themes are heavy at times, this is not a bleak album.

I hate to compare artists but the Donovan meets Cohen comparison is pretty spot-on with a little Rufus Wainwright and Nick Drake tossed in. But rather than comparing him to David Gray (as the Amazon review did), I would much sooner put him in the Badly Drawn Boy category. Above all though, he is a unique voice and has created a stunning debut album. I would recommend Ash Wednesday to anyone who seeks out great music.

Here's to hoping Elvis Perkins will be making great music for years to come.