Perfume Genius - No Shape
(Matador)

Mike Hadreas has quietly blossomed into a confident and accomplished songwriter. As Perfume Genius, he constructs pop songs like intimate art objects with a colorful palette and a sharpened sense of melody.
No Shape is his 4th LP and with it, he nicely merges the sensibilities of Prince, Kate Bush and Grizzly Bear into a world full of blissed-out yet skewed, orchestral songs. The first four songs lean on the bombast quite heavily with lead-off track “Otherside” exploding with strings and weighty piano trills after a gentle and subtle commencement. “Slip Away” has the spirit of Arthur Russell in its rhythms and production while the chorus is wonderfully anthemic. “Just Like Love” swoons with plucked strings, harpsichords and multi-layered vocals filling out his sonic pathways. The 2nd side introduces the darker shades of Perfume Genius. “Every Night” is reminiscent of 90’s slowcore with Hadreas’ falsetto wavering between lush strings and soft acoustic rambling. “Die 4 You” tweaks Bjork and Portishead into an eerie, late-night ballad with upright bass and droning keyboards, beautifully punctuating Hadreas’ fragmented vocals.
Despite what the title of Perfume Genius’ new LP suggests, No Shape takes hold and transfixes from the first notes right to the 13th track, “Alan.” Fans of the aforementioned Prince, Kate Bush, Bjork as well as more recent artists like St. Vincent and Angel Olsen, should take note of Mike Hadreas and Perfume Genius. There’s clearly plenty more to come. (Dom)
Check out a track here.