PERKINS, ELVIS

Alt-folk singer-songwriter Elvis Perkins--yes, it's his real name--follows up his somber solo debut, ASH WEDNESDAY, with a somewhat less weighty full-band album. ASH WEDNESDAY dealt with the loss of Perkins's mother, the actress and photojournalist Berry Berenson, in the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. While this album's "Doomsday" seems to touch on that loss, along with the AIDS-related death of his father, actor Tony Perkins, ELVIS PERKINS IN DEARLAND is overall a slightly more hopeful album, more melancholy than depressed. His band adds organ and piano to Perkins's guitar, creating a sound rooted in the MUSIC IN BIG PINK-era Band, particularly on the sprightly and unapologetically Dylanesque "Hey."

Estimated despatch 14-20 days after ordering.