Elvis Perkins, flower to the gun
Without wanting to complicate things further, the name « l Aubade » doesn’t mean anything. And while trying not to think about the generous C-cup of a Parisian underwear label, we’re still left searching for the meaning of this convoluted title. Elvis Perkins could never be simple. Elvis Perkins has never dabbled in simplicity.
In his press release, where his “whys” and “hows” take the form of a diary, Perkins explains: « and the word itself performed a little revolution before the eye. On first sight and with atrophied French it read to me as ‘obeyed’. And I was led to consider whom and what man-made I have obeyed in lieu of natural and supernatural law. And that turned to ‘Io bayed’ {a moon of Jupiter named for the lover he changed to white heifer}. And that turned to ‘I/O bade’ {the analog to digital interface I faced in making this record} ». He eventually decided on a combination of the two, festering even more so the meaning of the title. Even if his reasoning generates an honourable brand of intellectual masturbation, it still remains brimming with poetic imagery. Just like his album art, made up of prisms and pastel colours that proudly fondle with his abstract touch.
So here we are, in the middle of a slump where relaxing, where rocking from left to right like a tired old clock, where swaying to the rhythm of voodoo incantations and a breathless, dying voice, are all so very pleasant. This third album is a distillation of the man, deliciously soporific and authentic. Recorded in Los Angeles, New York, Dallas, in motels as well as in the middle of nature, “l Aubade” can only be described by its author: « Itimately it is a record full of waves and of changes. Pink and white Mini Moog waves; man receives the heart of a hog and undergoes spiritual transformation; AM waves run off with fluorescent wives-to-be; the living become dead and are brought back again; barking waves, interior waves, static waves. » These words speak for themselves; Perkins’ wild imaginings are, without a shadow of a doubt, limitless.
We brave the red earth, the American West. We journey amongst 70s flowers. We release somewhat illicit vapours, and we appreciate the music in all its purest splendour. Because, yes, blues and folk mate, and our pleasure multiplies tenfold. Perkins hits us with his naivety-laden songs (“& Eveline), steers us into a Gondry-like bric-a-brac (“Hogus Pogus”) and even becomes quite disturbing with (“Wheel In The Morning”). Ukulele strings and out of tune guitars, slowly dying keyboards, a nonchalant and nasal voice stemming from the body of an alternative dandy, everything is immediately distorted but oh so horribly appealing. We’re left all the more intrigued, insatiable, curious to know what is actually going on behind the tinted glasses of this brilliantly neurotic man.
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His third album, “l Aubade”, was released on 20th April 2015. All additional information can be found on his Facebook page and his official website.
Texte by © Julien Catala
Traduction by Fiona Filipidis
