--- ---  # The Agony and the Ecstasy of Perfume Genius  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner May 11, 2017 10:48 AM UTC   by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner May 11, 2017 10:48 AM UTC The seattle-based musician Perfume Genius, real name Mike Hadreas, came to national attention with 2014’s acclaimed album _Too Bright_, a meditation on being queer in a straight world. On lead single “Queen,” he intoned, “No family is safe when I sashay.” His new album, _No Shape_, out now, is more about transcending the physical. These songs morph from lean ballads to textured, messy soundscapes as bubbly synths get punctured by reverb-heavy guitar and slim percussion builds to exploding chords. On the interlude “Choir,” an eerie violin piece narrated by Hadreas, he groans, “I can’t dream/Something keeps me locked.” But there are lovely moments of peace too. “Did you notice babe everything is all right?” he asks in “Alan,” a tender lullaby to his longtime partner and bandmate Alan Wyffels. “I’m here, how weird.” He may not be entirely contented, but as a body of work, _No Shape_ settles into its own affecting groove. The Agony and the Ecstasy of Perfume Genius ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4775435/perfume-genius-too-bright-no-shape/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4775435/perfume-genius-too-bright-no-shape/"},"headline":"The Agony and the Ecstasy of Perfume Genius","datePublished":"2017-05-11T10:48:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:52:09.881Z","description":"The seattle-based musician Perfume Genius, real name Mike Hadreas, came to national attention with 2014's acclaimed album Too Bright, a meditation on being queer in...","url":"https://time.com/4775435/perfume-genius-too-bright-no-shape/","keywords":["Music"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8a21f435055ad523/6988ccd5cd1bba6d1c70524c/perfume-genius-no-shape.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8a21f435055ad523/6988ccd5cd1bba6d1c70524c/perfume-genius-no-shape.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"perfume-genius-no-shape","caption":"perfume-genius-no-shape","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4775435/perfume-genius-too-bright-no-shape/","name":"The Agony and the Ecstasy of Perfume Genius"}}]}] ```