Having no shape is surely antithetical to great pop writing. It flies in the face of the perceived wisdom that the beauty in pop songs is found in their limitations: short running times, road-tested structures and an adherence to melody. But ‘No Shape’, Mike Hadreas’ fourth album as Perfume Genius, proves that those rules are for others. For those who need building blocks.
The musical cues here are entirely Hadreas’ own. His work has moved from the quiet brutality of ‘Put Your Back N 2 It’ through the controlled grandeur of ‘Too Bright’ to the here and now, where ‘No Shape’ exists in a boundless environment lit by euphoria and a sense of wonder.
That idea of open space also resonates lyrically. Hadreas, who has so often investigated the abject, framing his body as rotting fruit or as “riddled with disease”, breaks out and wades into the apparent formlessness of love.
Here, its all-encompassing reach exists as an almost ethereal thing while also eventually providing a solid footing. When Slip Away explodes into life we are overcome. “Love, they’ll never break the shape we take,” he sings.
Just as it mines a rich vein of unusual, richly satisfying melodies, the album also swoops from stylistic detour to stylistic detour. It takes in the playful strings of Just Like Love, Wreath’s captivating compositional jigsaw and the scratchy, delicately unnerving Choir but ends up where it perhaps always had to.
Alan, named for Hadreas’ boyfriend Alan Wyffels, is a love song for the ages, and one that celebrates feelings of safety and reassurance. “Did you notice we sleep through the night?” Hadreas sings. “Did you notice, babe, everything is alright?” It has a somnambulant air to it musically, but its sentiments are crystal clear.
‘No Shape’ feels like an endpoint, but also a bold turning of a page. It stands in stark contrast to the pared-back intimacy of Hadreas’ early work and suggests he is an artist with the imagination to create profound, exciting things for a long time to come.
Perfume Genius Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Thu June 08 2017 - LONDON Heaven
Click here to compare & buy Perfume Genius Tickets at Stereoboard.com.
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
.jpg)
![Bad Omens Detail 26-Track 'Concrete Jungle [The OST]' Project, Share New Track The Drain](http://cdn1.stereoboard.com/images/artistimages/50/tn_bad-omens.jpg)
