Zoom-in Online

This blog was contributed by Adam Brawerman, Zoom In Online's Music Channel Assistant Producer.

I have been trying to hold off my thoughts on the new Elvis Perkins album, Elvis Perkins in Dearland, until the release in early March.  However, since I can’t shut up about it to coworkers and friends, I have decided to just get it down on paper.  The album is simply phenomenal.  It is rare for a studio album to make you feel like you are standing right in the middle of the action, instead of an outside observer, but this album is extremely tangible.  It is stripped down to the necessities and not overly produced, doctored, and manipulated.  Everything sounds acoustic- every sound implies a pluck, press, hit, or breath.  It is the type of album that can hold up to time without being dated by trendy recording techniques.  An instant classic.

Elvis Perkins has developed into a songwriter with striking range.  He remains grounded in the most flowery of moments, and the contrast of darkness and beauty is really something to behold.  Within a minute into the album he had me.  The first track, "Shampoo", begins with an acoustic guitar set within a jungle atmosphere.  Slowly what sounds to be a didgeridoo and an organ chimes in before the drums crash signaling the official lift off.  Perkins emphatically cries, “Sweep up, little sweeper boy...” and so I was in his pocket.  Where I remained throughout my first listen, and the subsequent four others that followed that same day.  

It was evident in his first release, Ash Wednesday, that Elvis Perkins had a gift for songwriting and storytelling.  However, what is exposed in Elvis Perkins in Dearland is undeniable raw talent.  And I use the word raw with best intentions, because without misting the landscape with unnecessary production, the audience is able to experience it for all that it is worth.

Check out Elvis Perkins in Dearland on Myspace.
Pre-order the album on his website.
Watch Elvis Perkins in Dearland perform "While You Were Sleeping" on Letterman.

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