In “While You Were Sleeping,” from his 2007 album “Ash Wednesday,” Elvis Perkins sings: “While you were sleeping / Your babies grew / The stars shined and the shadows moved / Time flew, the phone rang / There was a silence when the kitchen sang / Its songs competed like kids for space / We stared for hours in our maker’s face.”
Elvis Perkins can’t be accused of bowing down to folk-music cliches: His masterful songs are graceful and tender but never whiny or obvious, while Dylan, Cohen and both Buckleys linger as only slight influences.
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