Elvis Perkins in Dearland “Elvis Perkins in Dearland” Review
The first time I saw Elvis Perkins in Dearland live, it was coming off of the release of Ash Wednesday, Perkins’ gorgeously depressing 2006 debut (which he recorded prior to members of Dearland joining the band). After hearing the album and the back story (much of the content was written around the time of Perkins’ mother’s death in the 9/11 attack) I expected to be in tears by the end of the first song. The band surprised me, however, by bursting forth with one of the happiest, rocking-est sets that I witnessed all year. The disconnect was obvious though: Perkins in the studio was an introspective loner; Perkins onstage was much more like his namesake, the King. The band’s new self titled album brings the two sides of that dichotomy closer together—while it still has all the pathos of Elvis Perkins “woe-is-me” attitude, it also brings to the fold a much fuller and more upbeat sound (thanks in part to the full band in the recording studio). The result is, I think, the best of both worlds.
The record begins with the fabulous single, “Shampoo.” Though the meaning behind the lyrics is all but indecipherable, the melody is a gorgeously haunting organ and guitar dirge, with a harmonica wail thrown in for good measure. It also samples Star Wars’ R2D2, borrows a lyrical convention from Nina Simone’s “Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair” and sounds as if it is being dictated to a shampoo bottle. If you have any insight as to what it is all about, I am dying to know.
“Hey” is a cleverly written uptempo little song that features Perkin’s at his most “Dylanesque” songwriting. “Just be careful out there what you run into/If it were up to me, I would leave it up to you” sounds am awful lot like one of old Bob’s canny plays on words (the harmonica doesn’t hurt the reference either). Lines like “I don’t mind if you dream out loud/Fix your hair with a fallout cloud,” further the comparison with a level of abstruseness that is a calling card of both Perkins’ and Dylan’s entire bodies of work. Since there aren’t many better compliments when it comes to songwriting than echoes of the master, I mean this with the highest praise. Songwriting is and will most likely always be the cornerstone of Perkins’ music, and his compositions are balanced with a delicate mix of poetry and wry nuance. This is exemplified in one of the record’s catchiest tracks, “I Heard your Voice in Dresden,” which ends on the refrain “Some might say that all love is lost/but I swear I know my way.” As in this song, Perkins’ themes of death and loss are tempered with an authoritative sense of optimism that makes you believe he hasn’t yet given up all hope.
(photo by EPID via Beggars Group)
The band discovers their brass section about midway through the record, and nearly every song thereafter features prominent horns. “Doomsday” begins with a melancholy trumpet line that eventually builds into one of the album’s most upbeat tracks. Perkins has been playing the song live for some time now, and I am very glad that it has lost none of its energy in the recording. Though it contains the line “though you voted for that awful man/I would never refuse your hand (whoa Elvis, Obama is our president now!) it can be forgiven since the song was written under an, ahem, different president. “I’ll Be Arriving” contains the most experimental of the brass explorations, with a wobbly trombone line straight out of some New Orleans voodoo den.
“123 Goodbye,” and “How’s Forever Been, Baby?” round out the album on a sadder note more akin to Perkins’ earlier solo work. All the same though, these songs create a good counterbalance to the cheerful tracks, whereas Ash Wednesday was weighted too heavily towards despair. With a wider variety of moods, the sophomore effort has better symmetry and I think is the greater of the two records for it.
Very good track,’shampoo’.
It’s mellow,but with fine intensity.
I’ll keep an ear out for these guys.