Perfume Genius
Thu 1 Jul 2010
Under Moonlight You Will See Me
Inspired by a particularly bad patch during his life in New York, the music of Perfume Genius’ Mike Hadreas was recorded in the safety of his mother’s house in Seattle. Hadreas dealt with addiction, abuse and suicide during his time in NY, and used his musical project as therapy for himself, and, as could be imagined, others. It comes across clearly as a master-work bedroom recording and would be the perfect accompaniment to a night of listen-to-sad-music-when-you’re-feeling-sad-in-your-bedroom. The first Perfume Genius release is Learning, out now on Matador. As an album it grabs your attention immediately, though labelling it sad music would be an understatement; devastatingly haunting seems a better fit. Most tracks are piano and vocals and are incredibly sparse. Some swirling organs and strings come in to the mix, but across all tracks Hadreas’ voice pours emotion and sounds like a mix of Grandaddy’s Jason Lyttle and Daniel Johnston. Johnston would seem a strong reference point; both sound fragile and sing of intensely personal moments. The stories that make up Learning are direct accounts of real events, or mashed up stories about those close to him. It has the knack of seeming instantly familiar, and at half an hour in length deserves repeated listens. The songs are ordered as they were recorded, with Hadreas making songs and videos as rehabilitation for his past.
Let yourself be swallowed up in the dizzying beauty of Perfume Genius; best listened to in your bedroom late at night.
Perfume Genius- Mr. Peterson: MP3
Posted by Nick Fulton under Seattle, U.S.A, Washington
No Comments
