Perfume Genius

Two and a half years since the release of his last, very well received, album ,'Too Bright', Mike Hadreas, aka Perfume Genius, is back with his latest release, 'No Shape'. 'Too Bright' certainly raised the Perfume Genius profile exponentially and brought his name further into main stream consciousness. His live performances at Glastonbury and Coachella have also undoubtedly brought him to the attention of a wider audience. To date however you'd still have to say that he's not quite 'broken through', still not a name everyone's (even those with a keen interest in all things musical) familiar with. The release of  'No Shape' should change that, or at the very least, help shift the perspective substantially.

'No Shape' still retains the unique identity that makes it as a Perfume Genius record but its elements, for a large proportion, are much more easily connected with. There is a, albeit left field and nuanced, poppiness to some of his new album that has a sublime individuality; both critically astonishing and commercially viable.

Where 'Too Bright' won its audience over with 'My Body' and 'Queen' (amongst others), 'No Shape' picks up the thread and develops it into a wonderful new tapestry of delicate, intense, intricate, elaborate and, above all, captivating songs for Hadreas's new thirteen track, forth album.

Continue reading: Perfume Genius - No Shape Album Review

Ever since the release of his debut LP 'Learning' back in 2010, Seattle's Perfume Genius has attracted increasing attention both publicly and critically. His piano led ballads, for which he has become synonymous, lay bare the soul of Mike Hadreas. His penchant for pairing a particularly heartfelt lyric to a moving and evocative score are the work of an artist, if not beyond compare in contemporary music, then at least beyond reproach.

His second album, 'Put Your Back N 2 It' from 2012, quite rightly further cemented the credibility that has been afforded Perfume Genius. With album number three, 'Too Bright', he has gone one step further; he has not only delivered on his signature dishes but also upped the ante with some stunning musical developments.

On 'Too Bright' the genius not only comes from the Michelin starred melancholy but in the sonic exploration of his more challenging and intriguing new tracks. The album is eased in with the a-typical slow brooding ache of 'I Decline' and is still littered with the more familiar sounds for which he has become known. However, 'Too Bright' is also punctuated with some unexpected leftfield gems. The dark overtones of the foreboding and latterly terrifying 'My Body'; the semi-industrial percussive accents, unrelenting synth beat and high pitched screams of 'The Grid' as it gathers a frenzied and Gaggle like momentum; and the David Lynch meets Cindy Talk wonderful weirdness of 'I Am A Mother' are as divergent as they are diverse.

Continue reading: Perfume Genius - Too Bright Album Review

Re-scripting music that is deeply personal and introspective on record for the stage is something that many artists struggle with, particularly when they are not yet at the level to fund and fit on-stage a bombastic dectet of assistants (see currently: Bon Iver). Both Serafina Steer and Perfume Genius are perpetrators of such music and yet are unafraid to call on the assistance of others.

Continue reading: Perfume Genius, Birmingham Glee Club 5th September 2012 Live Review