A thread where we appreciate the genius behind Perfume Genius

An artist from my neck of the woods (Seattle) is about to release a fantastic album on Matador Records (The artist - Perfume Genius / The album - Learning). Anyone have any thoughts on this one yet? I discovered it listening to the album stream a couple of times here http://3voor12.vpro.nl/luisterpaal/.

I've read comparisons to a few artists, and I agree that it has some of the emotional honesty of a Neutral Milk Hotel, or a Nick Drake, but with more lo-fi keyboards in place of acoustic guitars; also has sort of an Antlers vibe.

Anyway, I'd like to know what you all think. Do I need to stop drinking?

oh man, i was obsessed w/ "mr. peterson" last year, can't wait to hear the album

also i'm drunk and depressed, so good timing

stunning. goddamn. wtf are these indie comparisons about? fucking neutral milk hotel?!

i hear kate bush fwiw

kate bush meets elliott smith?

in any case, i'll probably vomit the first time the word 'hype' is used in this discussion, so i should probably ignore this thread from here on out. I hope many of you enjoy the album (privately, of course).

playing @Glasslands in Bklyn tonight

dunno, this seems like the sort of thing I'd like, but was pretty unimpressed with "Mr Peterson" -- is there another track I should listen to that'll convince me?

Mr Peterson is great but the rest kinda sounds like a bunch of Antony And The Johnsons demos.

his voice reminds me of gary jules

'Put Your Back N 2 It' is just as lovely as the first one. It's a bit less voyeuristic in tone, and a bit fuller sonically. I'm still taking it in.

Suspect this will be another album I will love in the privacy of my headphones.

Not one for sharing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOpkr8uNWpk

so yeah this album

Spent most of my first listen disappointed that Hadreas sounded like he'd learned to write proper songs, but by the end it was starting to click and now I'm looking forward to the second spin.

This album is terrific.

Somehow missed out on him and his recent gig in my neighborhood. Just saw the review the other day:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/review-perfume-geniuss-work-loses-nothing-onstage/2012/04/01/gIQACLFapS_story.html

On the few when drums provided a backbone, the emotional wallop was greater.

I wrote about 'Put Your Back N 2 It' for Devon Record Club:

http://devonrecordclub.wordpress.com/2012/12/27/perfume-genius-put-your-back-n-2-it-round-42-robs-choice/

It's been with me all year. Glad to see it got a few mentions in the 2012 lists. I think it's remarkable.

Cate Le Bon ft. Perfume Genius: http://www.stereogum.com/1451062/cate-le-bon-i-think-i-knew-feat-perfume-genius/mp3s/

Holy mother of god, this song...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfJ9HX13Z8U

I just heard Queen. This is freakin amazing.

http://www.npr.org/2014/09/14/347755339/first-listen-perfume-genius-too-bright?autoplay=true

Streaming now. His lyrics are as good as ever but I think sonically, it's such a huge step forward. Don't sleep on this one.

Yeah missed all mention of this guy before but now seriously intrigued.

What's he doing differently sonically? Can't listen at work yet.

I'd rather it be a surprise for you.

I'm friends w the guy but still find myself fanboying him abt his music.

Grid is amazing my god I dunno, so happy about this

can't quite figure out how to articulate my thoughts on this album yet but i'm pretty impressed by it

took it for a walk yesterday afternoon and nearly burst into tears during the second half of "no good"

Saw the NY Times and New Yorker features, and intend to listen.

Yeah, I'm hesitating to put the album on my phone because I don't want to burst into tears on the train

I can't unsee Bruce McCulloch when I look at this album cover

this record is a nice example of how drums can improve just about anybody's music.

learning that john parrish did the percussion on this album makes a lot of sense. the overriding impression of the sonics on this album for me is "what pj harvey's next album might sound like".

This album is fucking awesome.

smh tho at the pathetic dismissal of this album's queerness in the last paragraph of the pitchfork review

I guess I am actually enjoying this, despite not actually *wanting* to enjoy it. I feel kinda manipulated by it, even as I fall for its manipulations.

But it often seems like "I feel really super-conflicted about this!" is a better indicator of future feelings than "OMG best thing ever" ?

Oh. The stream just cut out and I'm annoyed and trying to reload it back at the place where it left off, so I guess it's something I care about hearing. hA.

new album No Shape out in may!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPiiY4a1vf4

wow, this is pretty easily my favourite thing he's done

Just heard his new album for the first time. I wasn't a huge fan before but this album is really something.

oohhhhhhhh

Based on the new track they featured last week at the Pop Conference, yeah, going to be great. (He was an interesting speaker on the panel -- gave just enough of a 'kinda uncomfortable being here' vibe but wasn't standoffish, just very quietly careful in his responses.) Also having serpentwithfeet as the opening act on the tour makes that a must-see.

this is really fantastic on first listen

the entirety of this record has me on the edge of tears

I can't get enough of this. Die 4 You and Sides are the standouts for me at the moment, but it's one of those records where I think my favorite tracks could evolve and revolve over time.

Yeah, Die 4 U is one of my favourites. Such an incredible vocal performance.

This is easily my album of the year so far.

Damn, Sides!

Find it difficult to listen to 'Alan' without welling up, Owen Pallett as usual analyses it brilliantly: http://www.talkhouse.com/owen-pallett-on-perfume-genius/

that song and video is fucking really really cool

Been catching up on a bunch of stuff, including this, which is hitting the Eno/Kate Bush/Roxy/Ferry art rock sweet spot for me. What a great year for music so far.

sooooooooo excited for this!

Haven't listened yet but I'm anticipating, and tbh I'm excited that Blake Mills produced again

Anyone else see The Sun Still Burns Here? I caught it in Minneapolis, was a bit ambivalent about the staging but the music was incredible, maybe the best since N 2 It if I could hear it again as an album. Those two singles were highlights but also characteristic of the rest.

Describe is such an earworm. Specially love the edit that cuts out the last two minutes of ambience, they seem unnecessary for me in the single format. Maybe in the context of the album they make sense.

I think this is one of the best songs I’ve heard from him tbh, love the contrast between that heavy guitar riff and the blurry, melancholic singing. It sounds both uplifting and heartbroken at the same time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln4S83JeY2Y

I never really cared for Perfume Genius before but these two singles are some of my favorite songs released this year. Love the 90’s shoegaze feel of Describe and this one sounds like an update on the motown sound or even like “Off the Wall” Michale Jackson.

Michael*

his last album was fantastic and these two tracks aren't quite the same level as that so far but i still really like them

really good album, maybe even better than the last one even if it doesn't have the like, wow moments of "slip away" etc.

love the kinda compressed shoegaze vibe it has going on in a lot of these tracks

Oh it's out tomorrow?! "Describe" is probably my favorite song of his since "Take Me Home," excited to hear there's more like it.

yeah there's more than just that sound on the album, plenty of intricate chamber pop arrangements too as usual, but it's kinda the thread that ties the album together

found an interview from last year where he says that The Sun Still Burns Here is also planned as an album for this year!

halfway through and this is pretty amazing so far. "Whole Life" immediately blew me away

The Sun Still Burns Here is also planned as an album for this year

cool! it's so good

Allmusic has the new album's title with a comma, which I think I like better. If you're gonna use an adverb, go for it.

Hmm. It's good? But I'm not blown away.

lol

this is the funniest thread ive seen in a while LMFAO pic.twitter.com/KBY47PUgDV

— 🌸knewnie: season 2 (@rap_knewnie) June 10, 2020

He ran his hands up me
...
Breeders on CD

great as is but I kinda wish that was a couplet

wow at the new album. also wow .. where the fuck is the love for it on here?

seconding the love on the new record!

it's pretty good but there's never been much interest in him here for some reason. no shape similarly got no traction despite being brilliant

Good album, pretty front-loaded. The singles are my two favorite tracks but there's some other great songs in that first half

more love here, esp. the singles. pox time?

take me home
describe
hood
floating spit
i decline
wreath
sides
when
pop song
on the floor

It's odd, because the first time I listened to both No Shape and Too Bright, the album grabbed me by the shoulders, stared deeply into my eyes and breathed "YOU WILL LOVE ME" deep into my soul, and took hold of me and wouldn't let me go.

I did not have that experience with this new one, so I didn't listen to it again. Maybe I should give it another go?

(It's hard to listen to new things, while in the grip of an obsession with old things.)

Same tbh, I fell for No Shape instantly and listened to it countless times, and haven't clicked with the new one yet. I keep thinking I should give it more listens though.

It's strange, it starts off OK, I'm engaged by around the time of Jason, but I can't seem to get through to the end of the album. I think that there are a lot of slow / mid-tempo tracks around the middle, and my attention wanders off and I can't get it back.

It's frustrating, because I really want to like the album!

agree - this new one just doesn't have the same magic for me, too straining

i love it. but i also love blake mills' new down-tempo album. and now i will reiterate this most unhelpful info for these times: perfume genius shows are wonderful and brought my fandom to a new level.

for some reason the guitar-heavy parts of this album really remind me of r.e.m.'s monster, like i can totally picture stipe singing "describe" for example

Stipe/Hadreas
https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2012/05/03/19/5389417.jpg

still remember the seeing of this photo as an event in my life

new album Ugly Season out 17 June, the long promised release of the material from his 2019 dance performance The Sun Still Burns Here

Just a Room
Herem
Teeth
Pop Song
Scherzo
Ugly Season
Eye in the Wall
Photograph
Hellbent
Cenote

could not be more excited for this, "eye in the wall" and "pop song" were released as singles all the way back in 2019 and they're the best things he's ever done

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oply9BPy6nU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFqOeib8Qss

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ5kdR_N3Vo

very much looking forward to the album tomorrow this stuff is wild

oh this is immense, he really went for it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnXCEwf7pdE

so good

Was this a surprise release or was I just not paying attention?

it was announced 3 months ago but didn't get much of a promotional push - the only singles were released 3 years ago

it was recorded before set my heart on fire immediately and originally intended for release first, hence the weirdness there

Oh interesting. Havent checked it out yet but looking forward to it

very fine work

really love the new one. especially glad that it gives “eye on the wall” a home, by far my favorite thing he’s ever done

*eye in the wall, obv

another excellent album

this album is quite new adventures in hi-fi?

i miss how out there he got on ugly season though

I seem to have somehow missed two whole Perfume albums in there!

It's good that this music forum is helping me catch up on things

Nice to see Aldous (getting Lynchian and making waffles)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1sffNdzjPU

lol i forgot i compared set your heart on fire to rem's monster

*set ny heart on fire immediately

i need to sleep

Love the album after two listens but it's a bit more tender and gentle than I expected after the two rock-y singles, which seem like outliers now.