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.
This appears in the May 22, 2017 issue of TIME.
- The Biggest Moments From the Second Republican Debate
- Rooftop Solar Power Has a Dark Side
- Death and Desperation Take Over the World's Largest Refugee Camp
- Right-Wing's New Aim: a Parallel Economy
- Is It Flu, COVID-19, or RSV? Navigating At-Home Tests
- Kerry Washington: The Story of My Abortion
- How Canada and India's Relationship Crumbled
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
