Ash Wednesday | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 2006 (Independent self-release) February 20, 2007 (US) July 9, 2007 (UK) | |||
Recorded | 2006 | |||
Genre | Folk-rock | |||
Length | 50:52 | |||
Label | XL Recordings | |||
Producer | Ethan Gold | |||
Elvis Perkins chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
The Guardian | [2] |
Pitchfork Media | (7/10)[3] |
PopMatters | (8/10)[4] |
Stylus Magazine | (A-)[5] |
Drowned in Sound | (7/10)[6] |
Rolling Stone | [7] |
The Skinny | [8] |
Ash Wednesday is the debut studio album by singer songwriter Elvis Perkins, released on February 20, 2007, on XL Recordings. It is a chronologically sequenced album of songs written before (Tracks 1 to 6) and after (Tracks 7 to 11) the death of his mother, who died on 9/11. In a 2009 interview, Perkins states that the album "[has] been made out to be bleaker than it really is, [...] there were moments of hopefulness on Ash Wednesday too."[9]
Regarding the album's title, Perkins states that it:
refers to being left on Wednesday with nothing but ash, because [my mother] died on a Tuesday – being left with ash on September 12. That was also the day my father died, September 12 [1992, of complications from AIDS]. It first occurred to me on Ash Wednesday itself – my consciousness was largely ruled by having lost my mother six months previously.[10]
"All the Night Without Love" was the lead single off the album; "Moon Woman II" appears on the Fast Food Nation soundtrack, and "While You Were Sleeping" was featured in a season 4 episode of The O.C.. The album was released on XL Records and includes backing vocals by Ariana Lenarsky, Shana Levy of indie band Let's Go Sailing, and others.
Chart (2007) | Peak position |
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French Albums (SNEP)[11] | 193 |