Reviews
Artist:Elvis Perkins Album: Creation Myths
Label: MIR/Petluma
Tracks: 9
Website: http://www.elvisperkinssound.net
USA born Elvis Perkins has enjoyed a long music making career since the release of his critically acclaimed 2007 debut 'Ash Wednesday'. He toured this record with his own 'Elvis in Dearland' band and in 2009 they put out both the Billboard charting 'Elvis Perkins in Dearland' album, and 'Doomsday' EP before he released 'I Aubade' on his own MIR label in 2015. Arguably another solo piece, the soundtrack to brother Osgood's 2017 film 'The Blackcoat's Daughter' was put out, and until Covid 19 landed Elvis was providing live, original music in a Beth Morrison Production theatre piece 'Home' which had premiered in 2017 and been scheduled to tour internationally through 2021.
For 'Creation Myths' Elvis teamed up again with long time producer Sam Cohen but this time to revisit and rework 9 of his very first self penned songs written the best part of 20 years ago, which, as he notes himself "could have comprised what would have been my very first record, and yet the fates had a different say about how life would go, and that somehow that did not entail properly recoding these songs".
Opening track 'Sing Sing' floats in on a broad synth laden, percussion led landscape with Elvis's vocal skating dreamily on top of the mix before the almost Ska stylings of 'See Monkey' breaks up any reverie, conjuring up pleasing images of early Dexys Midnight Runners.
'I Know You Know' is more obviously mainstream with its bar blues piano and pedal steel dressing, 'Mrs. & Mr. E' is the nearest thing so far to a straightforward acoustic guitar and vocal driven song that boasts the best vocal on the album in my view, whilst 'Iris' is all psychedelic, tripped out folk musings.
On to track six 'The Half Life' and it's another slightly stripped back, rootsy affair with more delightful steel guitar and fiddle and a further very strong, organic vocal and narrative story line. 'Promo' continues this 'present' sound to good effect, 'See Through' strolls along in a courtly manner and album closer 'Anonymous' is anything but with it's stark, staccato guitar intro and brooding musical back drop.
The songs that make up this record may be getting on for twenty years old, but there's nothing dated about the contemporary, genre hopping treatment given to them here. Whilst invoking something of a meditative, trippy vibe, both musically and lyrically, the songs meld together effectively into an engagingly creative whole that increasingly reveals itself with repeated listens.
All in all, an enjoyable listen indeed and 'Creation Myths' is another fine addition to the Elvis Perkins CV.
Paul Jackson
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