Elvis Perkins Coming to Tractor (+ Free MP3)

Elvis Perkins in Dearland in Austin, Texas, at SXSW 2007. Photo by Chris Kornelis.

Elvis Perkins in Dearland
When: March 9
Where: The Tractor
Free MP3: "Shampoo," from the band's forthcoming album.

I'd actually never seen or heard Elvis Perkins before catching an Elvis Perkins in Dearland set at SXSW in 2007. When I got home and picked up Elvis' debut, Ash Wednesday, it was a bit of a letdown. He made the record before putting together Dearland, and in concert the music took on a presence far greater than what he put down on record. Thankfully, after years of touring and v-neck Ts, he's made a proper album with his supporting cast: Brigham Brough (upright bass, saxophone, vocals), Wyndham Boylan-Garnett (pump organ, guitar, harmonium, trombone, vocals), and Nick Kinsey (drums, percussion, banjo, clarinet, vocals). I've yet to hear the whole album, but the track "Shampoo" is already vastly richer than anything on Ash, though none the less wordy. Elvis Perkins' self-titled debut his the streets on March 10, the morning after their gig at The Tractor.