Seattle songwriter Mike Hadreas, better known by the stage name Perfume Genius, has literally made a living the last few years turning lo-fi pop into this sui generis chamber pop aesthetic. In the process, Hadreas’ lyrical content touched down in the various dregs of humanity and the navigation of difficult feelings. “Queen”, the first single from his third and best album, Too Bright, doesn’t change the signature bluntness of the last two Perfume Genius albums, but it does mange to flip his entire sonic palette on its head.
“Queen”, in comparison, with Perfume Genius’ past work is a fascinating lens through which the last couple of years of Hadreas in his music and in the public sphere could be analyzed. The idea on this track track would be right at home on Flockaveli and Rid of Me, alike. Influenced by gay panic, this track asserts Hadreas as a threat to deconstruct the societal norms that be, whether that is expressed in the form of a look on the street or YouTube.
From a production standpoint, the appearance of a massive overhaul on the third Perfume Genius album could be explained by the involvement of Portishead’s Adrian Utley. Where this is most striking are on five or so songs on this album that sound like they could have fit in on Put Your Back N 2 It or Learning. The production better details the breadth of Hadreas’ voice and piano. If tracks such as “Queen” and “Grid” represent a radical departure from what a Perfume Genius album is expected to sound like, piano-driven ballads like “Don’t Let Them In and “Too Bright” should spell the end to the loaded adjectives that were affixed to his first two albums.
When Too Bright does stray far from familiar territory, the payoff is invariably huge. “Queen” presents the album’s rallying cry, while showing just how savvy Hadreas has become when it comes to using his voice. He dives into his lower register to ask, “Don’t you know your queen?” matter-of-factly. He saves his quavering for his declaration of “No family is safe when I sashay.” Yet this track is really held together by the full sound of a drum kit, keyboards, and samples backing him. What’s striking is that this is not even Hadreas’ most confrontational work, just his most delightfully snarky.
From there, 80s pop influences show up on “Fool”, “Longpig” and standout cut “Grid”. All three of these tracks could have been huge missteps, but Utley and Ali Chant are quite good at making sure neither the instrumentals nor Hadreas’ voice overpower the other. The last of those three tracks, “Grid”, is this rousing number with this booming hook as its centerpiece that leads way to a warbled Hadreas finishing the song. Tracks like “My Body” and “I’m A Mother”, on the other hand, would sound more at home on a Xiu Xiu album. These are two of the most bass-heavy tracks Adrian Utley has to offer on this album and the imagery of Mike Hadreas wearing his body like a “rotted peach” or giving birth to a butt baby would make Jamie Stewart proud.
However, the greatest success of Too Bright is that Hadreas and everyone involved on this album found such a fresh direction to take the Perfume Genius project in without not changing the subversive, powerful nature of tracks like “Hood”, “17”, “Mr. Peterson” or “AWOL Marine”. And while this album is less subtle than his last two albums in how it gets the point across, Hadreas stays far away from the line of self-parody. Too Bright no crossover album, nor his lyrics anymore challenging than his previous work, but this third album finds Perfume Genius hitting a brilliant creative stride.
Album Rating: 4.5/5