Perfume Genius - No Shape

Perfume Genius, aka the amazing Mike Hadreas, has been at it for years making very somber and sort of low-fi indie Pop.  In his early days on his debut "Learning", Perfume Genius was more or less Mike at a piano banging out these unbelievably touching ballads with his often very shaky, harmed vocals.  You got the instance right away that you knew Mike, and you knew he'd been through a whole lot in his life.  The songs on "Learning" were so chocked with emotion and sorrow that it even got a little hard to listen to at points.  2012's "Put Your Back N 2 It" was even more stunning, scarred, and most importantly powerful.  Mike had the uncanny ability to tug at every last one of your heart strings with tracks like "Put Your Back N2 It" and "AWOL Marine".  But this album also showed Mike beginning to incorporate more than just his vocals and a piano, with tracks like the amazing "Dark Parts" and "Floating Spit".  And that more electronic and more expanded sound came to serious fruition with his followup album, the incredible "Too Bright", an album that's probably my favorite of Mike's work.  This album had tracks like "I Decline" and "Fool" which were a long the same lines as his older work, but also had stunning tracks like "Queen" and "Grid" that showed Mike incorporating heavy electronics for a HUGE sound.  It's been a while since we've heard from Mike, and to be honest these new singles have been some of his most experimental, gigantic tracks yet.  Le'ts talk to about the rest of this!

(A Perfume Genius classic)

Perfume Genius starts us off with “Otherside”, and to be honest, right off the bat this sounds like a very classic, stripped down sound for Mike.  Some of his most powerful moments are where he’s in these very quiet atmospheres, like he’s recording music in secret and doesn’t want anyone to hear him.  “Otherside” is haunting, which is backed up massively by the chilling backing vocals.  And oh my goodness, when that huge glimmering synth line blasts it’s way in, I get chills every time.  This is seriously a pretty stunning and absolutely beautiful intro for Mike.  It doesn’t overstay its welcome either, and in Mike’s own special way it has a very epic feel, it’s a brilliant intro.  “Slip Away” is up next, and right off the bat it’s very clear that Mike is so much more comfortable with himself.  I feel like four or five years ago, Mike would have never made a song like this.  It seriously moves things along really nicely however.  There are some baroque pop influences all over this with some synth pop as well, and as far as lyrics go this is just wonderfully for Mike.  We’ve seen him grow over the years so much, but this is a new level of comfortability for Mike.  This is just a sweet, gigantic pop song.  The synth blasts that pop in are bombastic, and the upbeat booming choruses are memorable.  In every way, “Slip Away” may be the most epic Perfume Genius song ever.  Plus, Mike just sounds so aware and comfortable saying all these sweet sentiments which warms my heart.  Honestly, I didn’t know Mike had a track like “Slip Away” in him, but I’m glad he did.  Up next is the very light and fluffy “Just Like Love”.  This one has much more of a stripped back, chamber pop feel, and I’m totally digging that.  As far as Perfume Genius expanding his sound goes, Mike has seriously gone all out with this album.  It use to basically be him and his piano, but here we are getting all of these incredibly lush instrumentals and plenty of art rock/art pop influence as well.  I also love the very looming bass behind Mike’s sweet vocals, and I love the strings that pop in for the chorus.  “Just Like Love” is absolutely sweet and gentle, but it’s also elaborate and interesting enough instrumentally for this one not to get stale.  Mike Hadreas has outdone himself.  Now, so far this has been a very artsy and experimental album, and I do love that about the album.  But that being said, “Go Ahead” may just be my least favorite track here.  I do like a whole lot of elements on this one, for example “Go Ahead” actually has one of my favorite vocal performances of the entire album.  But as far as structure goes, I really wasn’t feeling this one at all.  All of the other instrumentals as elaborate as they are, all seem to have a purpose.  However “Go Ahead” seems seriously lost and I feel like is trying to desperately figure out it’s place on the album.  There are some other great elements, like I love the bluesy atmosphere and all.  But outside of this, this is just a little too experimental for my liking.  However I do also have to give credit to some of the instrumentals that pop in in that last minute or so.  Thankfully though, Mike doesn’t drop the ball for long. “Valley” instantly has plenty of structure that I can enjoy.   I love how no matter what happens and wherever Mike’s music takes him, he still returns to these very bare Chamber Pop ballads that make his music so intimate.  “Valley” is a nice step in the right direction.  In a way it really does’t fir the vibes of the album, but after some of the very overwhelming and epic tracks we’ve heard earlier this breaks things up nicely.  Some of the guitar licks and the strings are just so elegant sounding, and Mike’s very pure and sweet vocals over it all just makes for stunning portraits.  The only slight issue I have with “Valley” is that I feel like this one keeps building but there’s no epic release.  However, with all of the gorgeous elements here I can certainly give it a pass.  

“Wreath” shows Mike going right back in the Synth Pop direction and it’s most certainly welcomed.  I love the upbeat, pulsating beat and the very whimsical atmosphere.  To be perfectly honest, this is everything I’ve wanted to hear from Mike.  “Wreath” has a whole lot more of the very sweet sentiments we saw earlier, but Mike on these tracks just sounds so much more confident and unstoppable.  It’s light and airy, but Mike’s very passionate and strong vocals really make this absolutely gigantic in sound.  If you dug the very epic sound of earlier tracks on this album you’re going to love this one.  “Every Night” shows Mike once again returning to his roots in a big way, and the results are quite stunning to say the least.  These quiet, chamber pop ballads are what attracted me to Perfume Genius in the first place.  Mike over the years we know has been through a lot, and his vocals here sound so vulnerable and harmed among this almost painfully quiet backdrop.  Moments like this just work so well for Mike and his Perfume Genius moniker, and the addition of this really great production as well as the strings that pop in are seriously stunning.  I wouldn’t say this is THE track of the album, but it reminds us very boldly of who Mike Hadreas is and where he’s come from.  And then out of nowhere Mike wants to break out a track like “Choir”, seriously where the hell does this one even come from?  This one starts off and is built up upon these strings that sound so tightly wound and seriously intense.  It’s all so hectic sounding, it sounds like something Arca would have produced a while back.  Mike’s very twisted sounding monologue over it all comes off brilliant as well.  I feel like Mike has gone for a track or two like this in his day, but it’s never come off nearly as memorable as this, I mean this is some seriously experimental stuff here.  I feel like I should be watching some really disturbing Art School Student film while I’m listening to this.  Overall, this is seriously very memorable, it’s also the darkest thing Mike has done here by far, maybe even his entire career.    By the time “Die 4 You” comes along, it’s obvious that this album is just getting better by the minute.  Firstly, I love the very laid back, sort of dark Loungey vibe that Mike is going for here.  Second of all, his vocals here are seriously ridiculously soulful on this one.  As Mike moves further and further on with this album, it’s not so light and fluffy, no he’s certainly bringing us into some very dark territory.  But “Die 4 You” is done in such a seriously hip way that I can’t get enough of it.  And as things speed up just a little and those added instrumentals come in, “Die 4 You” instantly becomes a seriously steamy couple of minutes.  Between those dual vocals from Mike and the very thick atmosphere here, “Die 4 You” absolutely rules.  “Sides” featuring Weyes Blood is up next, as the production on this album continues to be so elegant and over the top.  Hell, this album is worth checking out just for the production in itself.  Mike continues to go really hard on bringing in these very lush string arrangements, but there’s also these very old school 80’s sounding soulful guitars over all of it. His collaboration with Weyes Blood here is honestly very tasteful, and their little duet comes off just beautiful.  This track is a track you need to sit through all the way and demands a little bit of patience.  But it’s the little details about “Sides” that make it come off so wonderful.  Even the verse that Weyes Blood does on her own is just so airy and beautiful, it ends up complimenting the very haunting vibe of Perfume Genius even further.  

Perfume Genius isn’t done with us just yet.  “Braid” once again takes us back to the very bare days of Mike’s early work.  It’s almost a little too bare though.  Like, I love hearing Mike on very quiet tracks like these, but I feel like the sound he was going for on “Braid” has been done so much better.  Hell, it’s been done better on tracks on this very album.  It’s alright and all, and Mike’s performance continues to be stunning, but instrumentals I could have done with maybe a little more piano on this one.   However, “Run Me Through” instantly drags me right back in to Perfume Genius’s thick atmosphere.  Remember when I said earlier that Mike was going for a sort of Dark, Lounge Singer kind of thing?  Well that’s back here in a gigantic way, and it’s bigger than ever.  I love the very hulking, almost suffocating atmosphere of this one, and Mike’s soulful and gigantic vocal in between it all.  The instrumentals are done so well here, this track is so far and heavy that whenever a new instrumental creep in, I never expect it.  “Run Me Through” comes out smoothly though, not to mention the instrumentals that pile in about halfway through are seriously chaotic and twisted.  But man, I love just how heavy the drums are and the pulsating synth blasts that accompany them.  “Run Me Through” is massive, and seriously impressive.  Mike ends this glorious album off with “Alan”, and right from the opening notes it’s clear that Mike isn’t going to let up until this album is over.  These strings here are absolutely stunning, and Mike’s performance is just as sentimental and human sounding.  At this point, I rally don't know what else I can say about this album, it’s fantastic, and I think that by far this IS Mike’s finest work.  “Alan” just comes off so beautiful almost to the point of a tears, and is a wonderful finale to a seriously finely tuned, lavish Indie Pop album.  

Rating: 9.0/10

Give A Listen To: “Slip Away”, “Wreath”, “Run Me Through”, “Die 4 U”

Overall Thoughts:  The one thing that I wasn't expecting Perfume Genius to do on this album, was completely blow away everything he's ever done.  But that's exactly what Mike Hadreas did here.  Mike has compiled an incredibly lush and gorgeous Indie Pop album, filled with stunning instrumentals and pristine production.  On top of that, Mike has come such a long way with showing us his personality, and lyrically Mike has become more open with us than ever.  Altogether, this is the most engaging and interesting set of Perfume Genius songs yet, and may be the most important album Mike Hadreas has made for himself.