If it’s true that all great art stands alone regardless of back story, Ash Wednesday qualifies. Perkins’s powerful voice is capable of hitting Jeff Buckley’s heights; his graceful lyrics are blessed with poetic detail, filled with images of young Christmas brides, hair going gray under the spell of tragedy, and dreams “that have gone overslept.”  Full text...

It's no wonder this album supposedly took so long to make—albums this delicate need to be treated with the utmost care.   Full text...

Most tracks stick to a downbeat, acoustic-folk template, although "May Day!" sounds like a lost Neutral Milk Hotel hoedown. On the standout "Emile's Vietnam in the Sky," which mixes French dialogue with fiddle and accordion accents, Perkins asks, "Do you ever wonder where you go when you die?" He has.  Full text...

On his debut album, Ash Wednesday, singer-songwriter Elvis Perkins explores the inevitability of death and the possibility of spiritual rebirth, with a mournful knowledge of the former and a wistful yearning for the latter. Ultimately, though, there's no transcendence for Perkins or the listener, making Ash Wednesday a tough listen with limited rewards.  Full text...