Now here is one gig that I’ll not be missing for the world – the gorgeous melancholy of Perfume Genius, aka Seattle singer-songwriter Mike Hadreas. Hadreas’s unsettlingly beautiful and disturbing second album Put Your Back N 2 It has had me completely mesmerised. Delving into harrowing topics such child molestation, gay suicide, self-hatred, prostitution and overwhelming despair, Hadreas manages to shed some light on his grim subject matter with his dreamy, often grand piano melodies and tender vocal arrangements, and a stinging, bruised sensitivity and emotional depth.
Rightly feted by everyone from Michael Stipe to Pitchfork, Drowned In Sound and The Guardian, I warn you now that listening to Put Your Back N 2 It will have you spellbound, walking around in a daze for days on end, with Hadreas’s lilting melodies running through your head. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Watch Perfume Genius’s lovely Takeaway Show session of ‘Hood/Normal Song’:
‘Dark Parts’, an exploration of his mother’s abuse at the hands of her grandfather:
I’ve got 2×2 free tix for the Perfume Genius gig @ Exil, ZH, Wednesday 11.07.12 to give away. Just tell me the name of your favourite song from Perfume Genius’s current album, Put Your Back N 2 It and the tix are yours!
Perfume Genius plays @ Exil, Zh, Wednesday 11.07.12. Tix here.
Put Your Back N 2 It is out now on Matador/Turnstile.
Related articles
- Pure Genius: Michael Stipe tips his hat to his favourite new star, Perfume Genius (independent.co.uk)
- Nigel Wright + Passenger @ Papiersaal, ZH – 2×2 free tix (highrotation.ch)
- Perfume Genius – “Rusty Chains” (stereogum.com)
- New Music Video – Perfume Genius “Dark Parts” (thescenestar.typepad.com)
