Elvis Perkins | Talent > Nepotism

“All the Night Without Love” – Elvis Perkins

I admit I was largely skeptical about Elvis Perkins. After all, any kid borne from the loins of celebrity (namely, Anthony Hopkins) has clearly garnered fame through the slimy halls of nepotism. Right?

Meh. So I stand corrected. Perkins’ troubadour-folk release Ash Wednesday is deserving of some focussed attention. On top of losing his father to complications from AIDS in 1992, his mother, photographer Berry Berenson, passed away aboard American Airlines ill-fated Flight 11 on September 11, 2001. The album documents this time of heartbreak and recovery without being preachy and, thankfully, doesn’t veer into self-defeating woe-is-me, my-life-sucks territory.

The unfortunate thing is his recent gig at Vancouver’s Media Club was a sparsely attended effort; too bad for local music fans, as it was one of the most moving shows I’d seen this year.

Official site: www.elvisperkins.net/
MySpace: www.myspace.com/elvisperkins
Last.fm: www.last.fm/music/Elvis+Perkins
eMusic: www.emusic.com/album/10993/10993319.html

Similar artists: Dan Bern, Mason Jennings, Wilco, M. Ward, Sheryl Crow