Perfume Genius - Put Your Back N 2 It (Matador, 2012)

Perfume Genius

Put Your Back N 2 It

Matador

2012

Rating: 8 broken needles out of 10

Having never heard of him before, I saw Perfume Genius aka Mike Hadreas open for Beirut a few months back.  It was sensitive and a little whiny and not at all what I usually like in music.  And then I saw he put out a new record on Matador with a stupid name, and I continued to be unimpressed.  Then I listened to the record, and despite all of my previous feelings, I found myself quite taken with the album after only the first spin.  I don't generally partake in this sort of music, but there is a haunting, powerful quality to this record.  My limited vocabulary in this arena is forcing a comparison to Antony and the Johnsons, though to be honest I think Perfume Genius writes stronger songs.  You could also draw a comparison to Elliott Smith's earlier material, though replace the acoustic guitar with a piano or keyboard...same level of honesty and introspection really, the music so delicate it seems like a light breeze could blow it away. 

Now I kinda want to see him live again, now that I know the music, and give him another shot.