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It’s been a while, but Elvis Perkins’ songwriting chops remain as lush as ever, an unexpected oasis of skewed harmonies and surprising arrangements in a dry sandy desert of plinky singer-songwriters.
With incisive lyrics intertwined with unexpected arrangements, the band is in fine form, serving as a bittersweet soundtrack for changing weather, complementing both the sunshine and the rain but especially the part where one changes into the other.
There’s good reason the Velvet Underground is one of the most popular topics for tribute recordings, their songs being very open to interpretation. This selection does not shy away from the more uncomfortable VU topics, which makes it a standout.
Kurt Vile’s surgical lyrics and out-there guitar playing overshadow the fact that he is a bona-fide troubadour, a distinctive voice and presence that hangs out in your head and strums out their weird tunes from an armchair in the corner.
Simpson made a name for himself with introspective Americana, but this injects a confusing high-energy EDM element, with mixed results. I imagine die-hard ZZ Top fans felt the same way about “Eliminator”.
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