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Perfume Genius streaming new album, 'Too Bright' (listen)

by Andrew Sacher

PG

Mike Hadreas is a week away from releasing the third Perfume Genius album, Too Bright (due 9/23 via Matador), and it’s currently available to stream on NPR. Much of the album’s first half (“I Decline,” “No Good,” “Don’t Let Them In”) has Perfume Genius in the confessional piano singer/songwriter style we’re accustomed to, with a few hints of a leap forward like the grander instrumentation of lead single “Queen” and the snappy, synthy “Fool.”

But the second half of the album sees Mike going into wildly different sonic territory and pulling it off expertly. “My Body” begins with brooding synths, and then transitions into a purely out-there mix of digital age industrial and sci-fi/horror films. “Grid” (the second single) comes close to dance-pop, but in a demented sort of way with plenty of shrieks thrown in that once again sound like sci-fi/horror films. “Longpig” is yet another experiment of danceable synths and avant-leaning melodies, yet an entirely different beast than its two predecessors. Then Perfume Genius moves to almost the exact opposite side of the spectrum with “I’m A Mother,” a dirge of dark, ambient soundscapes and mumbled vocals that sound even more withdrawn than the loneliest loner folk singers. For the last two tracks, it gets (mostly) back to the Perfume Genius we know and love. The whole thing is a trip. Listen for yourself.

Perfume Genius’s previously discussed tour hits NYC on October 7 at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Mattaeh Baim. Tickets for that show are still available.

Streams of “Queen” and “Grid,” with the list of dates, below…

Perfume Genius — 2014 Tour Dates
September
26 – Urban Lounge – Salt Lake City, UT
27 – Hi Dive – Denver, CO
29 – Riot Room – Kansas City, MO
30 – Triple Rock Social Club – Mpls, MN

October
1 – Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL
2 – Magic Stick – Detroit, MI
4 – Virgin Mobile Mod Club – Toronto, ON
6 – Brighton Music Hall – Allston, MA
7 – Music Hall of Wmsburg – Brooklyn, NY
8 – Johnny Brenda’s – Philadelphia, PA
9 – The Hamilton – Washington, DC
10 – Cat’s Cradle Back Room – Carrboro, NC
11 – Drunken Unicorn – Atlanta, GA
13 – Three Links – Dallas, TX
14 – The Parish – Austin, TX
16 – Club Congress – Tucson, AZ
17 – Soda Bar – San Diego, CA
19 – Roxy Theatre – Los Angeles, CA
21 – The Independent – San Francisco, CA
22 – Harlow’s – Sacramento, CA
24 – Mississippi Studios – Portland, OR
25 – Neptune Theatre – Seattle, WA

November
11 – La Maroquinerie, Paris
12 – Exil, Zurich
13 – Le Romandie, Lausanne,
14 – Depot, Leuven
16 – Vega, Copenhagen
17 – Lido, Berlin
18 – Pret-a-ecouter Festival, Heidelberg
19 – Bitterzoet, Amsterdam
21 – Le Guess Who Festival, Utrecht
23 – Caves, Edinburgh
24 – The Wardrobe, Leeds
25 – Oobleck, Birmingham
26 – The Haunt, Brighton
27 – Islington Assembly Hall, London