M. Ross Perkins – E Pluribus M Ross
Colemine/Karma Chief Records – 25 March 2022
M. Ross Perkins has big ears, not literally, but the Ohio native seems to have listened to everything from rock’s distant past and distilled it all on his second disc, E Pluribus M Ross. Doing it all himself, he answers to no one but his own inner muse. Incorporating everything from the 60s and 70s, he combines all these resources and unleashes them in ways that recall the music of old while still sounding contemporary. He’s been compared to everyone from Brian Wilson and the Byrds, Emitt Rhodes and Harry Nilsson, not to mention contemporary artists like Father John Misty and Weyes Blood.
The problem with all the comparisons is that Perkins is very much his own man. More than a product of his influences, he’s like a human jukebox, but instead of dispensing familiar songs, he rearranges the combinations and pushes them out in decidedly different ways. The late 60s vibe of “Industrial Good Day Mantra” has a Beatle-ish bass sound combining with a more countryish guitar, not to mention electronic effects. Lyrically the song captures a pandemically enhanced vibe, “They say it ain’t over til the fat lady sings/ Shit/ None of this is over til the rigor mortis sets in/And you’re in the ground.”
The ghost of George Harrison’s guitar combines with Roger McGuinn’s 12-string Rickenbacker on “Wrong, Wrong, Wrong.” From the Byrdsian opening lick, Perkins takes aim at fake news and disinformation, all the while playing one of the bounciest tunes you’re likely to hear this year. That digital age dichotomy is just part of the reason this collection is so consistently fascinating. Luring one into his trap, Perkins makes it clear, “Everything I see is wrong/ Everything I know’s untrue/ And now I know you’re so wrong.”
While you could play a game of ‘Spot the Lick’ with this album, that truly misses the point of what Perkins has in mind. Lyrically, he’s got an incredible handle on how to turn a phrase, time and again capturing colourful imagery, but always in support of the song. Describing “Mr Marble Eyes”, he explains, “I was listening to bands like July, The Move, and Tomorrow, and all I wanted to do was write songs that were as vivid and bubbly as that stuff … I wanted to tell an abstract story with two opposing characters, one representing the establishment authority and the other representing the tripping wanderer who sees through everything.” With such an encyclopedic knowledge of music, it comes as no surprise that he can quote from every seminal band that ever came down the pike.
It really should come as no surprise that M. Ross Perkins does everything himself; playing all the parts, singing all the vocals, even doing all the production work. That way, he has no one to answer to but himself. Listening to the songs in his head, he creates the kind of masterpieces that could only come from one mind. Lennon and McCartney bounced ideas off each other. Perkins does it all alone. As a result, E Pluribus M Ross offers the most unified collection of lines and licks you’re likely to hear this year.
Watch M Ross Perkins performing an acoustic version of Pinball Blonde:
Website: http://www.mrossperkins.com/