Perfume Genius
No Shape
Matador Records
โEverything is alrightโ sings 35-year-old Mike Hadreas, on โAlan,โ the final track of No Shape. Making a name for himself through themes of self-loathing, rejection, and bodily disdain, a version of Hadreas we havenโt seen before emerges, with newfound inner peace. With a longstanding history of singing openly about personal struggles and commenting on social issues, stories told vividly through his music, it is perhaps to everyoneโs surprise, (including his own, singing โHow weirdโ at the end of โAlan,โ) but a pleasant one at that to hear Hadreas complete an LP sprinkling sentiments that he is here, and striving for happiness like the rest of us.
Remaining a separate entity from the mainstream pop scene, Hadreas still manages to appeal to dynamic audiences. His odyssey is winding, and remaining true to form, No Shapeโs 13 sophisticated tracks follow a turbulent path ranging from gospel music with grand orchestral ferociousness to stripped down softness, his melodic voice over piano heavy ballads reminiscent of songs like โDreeemโ and โDirge,โ tracks that initially made us fall in love with him (but now, with less angst). Producer Blake Mills taps into Hadreasโs venture into a foreign realm, waxing and waning from track to track, supplying genre-bending songs appropriate for dancing, making out, going to Church on Sunday, and everything in between.
While his debut 2010 album Learning and 2012 successor Put Your Back N 2 It were comprised of dark themes melodically and lyrically, Perfume Geniusโs foray into the light suits him just as well, if not better, than singing of tragedy. Even Too Bright, released in 2014, didnโt portray the optimism and hopefulness for the future we see now, despite being a more up-tempo project with tracks like โQueenโ garnering wider public attention. From start to finish, Hadreas points to letting go and finding joy, while paying homage to Kate Bush on โWreath,โ proclaiming, โRunning up that Hill/Iโm gonna peel off every weight.โ Where many artists like Dallas Green of City and Colour struggle to change contexts within their music and remain true to their inner darkness not knowing how to write from a place of happiness, Hadreas successfully pulls off the switch. Goth-glam has never sounded so good.
Artist quote: โI felt like when I made these other albums, people were like why are you talking about these things, and now people are going to be like, why arenโt you talking about these things, because everythingโs so terrible. Iโm never not talking about it. My life is existing in the fucking face of it. My music will always be in protest.โ
Artistย Links
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: PERFUME GENIUS – NO SHAPE
Emily Nichol