· jclacking · details
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.
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”.
YACHT dropped out of sight right before the whole "yacht rock" revival thing happened, but this release reinforces the band's penchant for commenting on current themes with the musical equivalent of wearing sunglasses inside the nightclub.
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