Perfume Genius overcomes his demons to craft an immaculate record of SPIRIT AND SENSITIVITY, rallying for love of all shapes and sizes
As the only openly gay person in his local suburb of Seattle, growing up was never simple for Mike Hadreas. In his teenage years, he was the victim of a series of unfortunate events. Diagnosed with Crohn's disease, his parents divorced, receiving death threats in high school (only for the staff to turn a blind eye), dropping out of college, was and attacked and hospitalised by a group of thugs when walking home one evening - describing his adolescence as "simple" would be a long shot. By 25 he was broke and depressed. His ambitions as a painter had deteriorated, and was subsequently admitted to rehab by his mother. Fast forward 10 years, and he is currently creating some of most cutting edge music in the industry, with his lavish approach to art, chamber and indie pop, paired with his uniquely luminous and kitsch visual style.
Perfume Genius' music often revolves around the themes of sexuality, gender, and identity that have played such a prominent role in his life, for better or for worse. On his sublime previous LP, Too Bright, Mike let the world know that he is not one to fuck with. He tackled issues ranging from the public's subtle disapproval of expressing homosexual love, to dead-end relationships, and being perceived through tired stereotypes. He even lampoons that oh-so condescending term "gay best friend", which itself is a dumb distinction to make when speaking of a friend. The production complimented the seething lyrical content sung with fragile, wailed vocals, and gritty, skeletal synth leads. No Shape marks a very different tone from the last project, invoking a more hopeful, empowering tone, and it pays off.
The first two tracks floor me with joy every time I replay them. The opener, 'Otherside', reels you in with a quiet piano ballad, gloriously exploding into a dazzling wall of sound. His voice bellows in full upper register whilst being caressed by loud, glistening synths, in the midst of this beautiful chaos. It is absolutely breath-taking. The lead single 'Slip Away', is just as jaw-dropping as the first, as the metallic, jagged bass riff is shattered by deafeningly bright guitars. "Love will never break the shape we take", he sings, putting forth the central idea of the record, exploring the relationship between our bodies, and love.
This loose concept is made clearer in tracks such as 'Just Like Love' and 'Go Ahead'. The former of which he dedicated, in an interview with NPR, to a 7-year-old boy that he saw on Facebook dancing happily and elegantly around in a pink dress. His words are empowering, encouraging the young boy to rise above the hate and intolerance that he will suffer to come, with one of my favourite verses:
"Slick, sheen so bright it's a bother
You are cultivating grace
They're rough
Smother them with velvet
For child, you walk
Just like love"
He pushes this confidence further in 'Go Ahead', which is fronted by a stuttering, squelchy bass line. A swaggering attitude is brought to the table, against people who judge his queerness and lack of conformity, quipping "what do you think? / I don't remember asking". The unapologetic sass never fails to put a smile on my face.
Mike also indulges in his own life, singing about his boyfriend of 8 years in the two closing tracks, both with very different tones. 'Run Me Through' is a hyper-sexualised come-on song where he's describing the predominantly masculine features of his boyfriend's shape with intimate, erotic detail. Whereas with the closer, 'Alan' (his boyfriend), he serenades him over these lovely, ethereal string sections that hang distantly behind a muffled piano. It is a perfect, and poignant end to the album.
Speaking of poignancy, stunning string sections appear across No Shape. Mike sorrowfully laments his sleepless nights of anxiety on 'Every Night'. Snivelling violins swoop in towards the end, making it a truly heartbreaking listen. The most impressive use of strings however, comes in the form of 'Choir'. It experiments with mixing strings and angelic choral harmonies by compressing them into each other in the mix. It is a disorientating and wildly psychedelic experience. The reverberated strings and backing vocals both grind against my ears. It has the sonic properties of a paranoid acid trip in a 17th century bourgeois European opera house.
Another highlight that really stands out is 'Die 4 You' where he expresses this obsessive love for someone, as he describes them "collecting his breath", but has no objections to it. Interestingly he revealed that it is actually about erotic asphyxiation, spinning that common cliche of dying for someone to hilariously literal proportions. It definitely has a black comedic tone to it. And the song 'Wreath', which has a great, driving electronic beat paired with some ringing percussion and growling guitars that cut through it at intervals. Mike describes wanting leave his body behind, to "burn off every trace / I wanna hover with no shape", which effectively taps into this insecurity of not being satisfied with one's body, an insecurity that I think many people feel today with the unrealistic body standards propagated in celebrity culture, that we are somehow supposed to live up to.
In confronting these issues with such honesty and wit, Mike has crafted a comprehensive album with No Shape, that does not just celebrate love as a universal concept, and the personal relationships with our own bodies, but also celebrates weirdness and individuality. It is very easy to conform to the image and behavior that society perceives you as, but it takes guts and intelligence to challenge that, traits that he proves he has once again. I might not know a great deal about the web of complexities and complications of being in love with another, I don't think that many of us do for that matter, but when I need to confront them head-on, this is a place I would turn for hope and encouragement.
Listen to it on Spotify here:
Perfume Genius' music often revolves around the themes of sexuality, gender, and identity that have played such a prominent role in his life, for better or for worse. On his sublime previous LP, Too Bright, Mike let the world know that he is not one to fuck with. He tackled issues ranging from the public's subtle disapproval of expressing homosexual love, to dead-end relationships, and being perceived through tired stereotypes. He even lampoons that oh-so condescending term "gay best friend", which itself is a dumb distinction to make when speaking of a friend. The production complimented the seething lyrical content sung with fragile, wailed vocals, and gritty, skeletal synth leads. No Shape marks a very different tone from the last project, invoking a more hopeful, empowering tone, and it pays off.
The first two tracks floor me with joy every time I replay them. The opener, 'Otherside', reels you in with a quiet piano ballad, gloriously exploding into a dazzling wall of sound. His voice bellows in full upper register whilst being caressed by loud, glistening synths, in the midst of this beautiful chaos. It is absolutely breath-taking. The lead single 'Slip Away', is just as jaw-dropping as the first, as the metallic, jagged bass riff is shattered by deafeningly bright guitars. "Love will never break the shape we take", he sings, putting forth the central idea of the record, exploring the relationship between our bodies, and love.
This loose concept is made clearer in tracks such as 'Just Like Love' and 'Go Ahead'. The former of which he dedicated, in an interview with NPR, to a 7-year-old boy that he saw on Facebook dancing happily and elegantly around in a pink dress. His words are empowering, encouraging the young boy to rise above the hate and intolerance that he will suffer to come, with one of my favourite verses:
"Slick, sheen so bright it's a bother
You are cultivating grace
They're rough
Smother them with velvet
For child, you walk
Just like love"
He pushes this confidence further in 'Go Ahead', which is fronted by a stuttering, squelchy bass line. A swaggering attitude is brought to the table, against people who judge his queerness and lack of conformity, quipping "what do you think? / I don't remember asking". The unapologetic sass never fails to put a smile on my face.
Mike also indulges in his own life, singing about his boyfriend of 8 years in the two closing tracks, both with very different tones. 'Run Me Through' is a hyper-sexualised come-on song where he's describing the predominantly masculine features of his boyfriend's shape with intimate, erotic detail. Whereas with the closer, 'Alan' (his boyfriend), he serenades him over these lovely, ethereal string sections that hang distantly behind a muffled piano. It is a perfect, and poignant end to the album.
Speaking of poignancy, stunning string sections appear across No Shape. Mike sorrowfully laments his sleepless nights of anxiety on 'Every Night'. Snivelling violins swoop in towards the end, making it a truly heartbreaking listen. The most impressive use of strings however, comes in the form of 'Choir'. It experiments with mixing strings and angelic choral harmonies by compressing them into each other in the mix. It is a disorientating and wildly psychedelic experience. The reverberated strings and backing vocals both grind against my ears. It has the sonic properties of a paranoid acid trip in a 17th century bourgeois European opera house.
Another highlight that really stands out is 'Die 4 You' where he expresses this obsessive love for someone, as he describes them "collecting his breath", but has no objections to it. Interestingly he revealed that it is actually about erotic asphyxiation, spinning that common cliche of dying for someone to hilariously literal proportions. It definitely has a black comedic tone to it. And the song 'Wreath', which has a great, driving electronic beat paired with some ringing percussion and growling guitars that cut through it at intervals. Mike describes wanting leave his body behind, to "burn off every trace / I wanna hover with no shape", which effectively taps into this insecurity of not being satisfied with one's body, an insecurity that I think many people feel today with the unrealistic body standards propagated in celebrity culture, that we are somehow supposed to live up to.
In confronting these issues with such honesty and wit, Mike has crafted a comprehensive album with No Shape, that does not just celebrate love as a universal concept, and the personal relationships with our own bodies, but also celebrates weirdness and individuality. It is very easy to conform to the image and behavior that society perceives you as, but it takes guts and intelligence to challenge that, traits that he proves he has once again. I might not know a great deal about the web of complexities and complications of being in love with another, I don't think that many of us do for that matter, but when I need to confront them head-on, this is a place I would turn for hope and encouragement.
Listen to it on Spotify here:
And watch the music video for 'Slip Away' here: