Perfume Genius at New Century

Perfume Genius brings Glory to New Century – another transformation from a shapeshifter who’s made unpredictability a signature. Across seven albums, Seattle-born Mike Hadreas has moved between hushed alt-indie, maximalist pop and strange, orchestral abstraction, with a through-line of aching songwriting at the centre. His latest record sees him loosen the reins, serving up less a complete aesthetic vision and more a mosaic of styles and characters who recur throughout his discography.

Mike Hadreas arrived with Learning (2010) on Matador. It was met with immediate acclaim. “Eviscerating and naked” is how Pitchfork described the record, which established that cracked-halo voice and a gift for putting tenderness under a spotlight. Each step since has widened the frame: the cinematic transcendence of No Shape (2017) earned a GRAMMY nod; Set My Heart on Fire Immediately (2020) folded goth, glam, synth-pop, soul and indie-rock into songs that seemed to compress decades. Ugly Season (2022) then swerved into off-kilter orchestration and avant atmospheres – an experimental detour that cleared the path for his latest record.

Glory is the most direct, collaborative version of Perfume Genius yet. It’s a record that treats queer mid-life not as comedown but as new weather – subtler, stranger, no less electric. Working with Alan Wyffels and Blake Mills plus a great band (Meg Duffy, Greg Uhlmann et al.), Hadreas tells the story of his own experiences through sharp vignettes. Dion, Angel, Tate, Jason are characters glimpsed through a queer prism, each turning over intimacy, paranoia and devotion. The music moves them in various directions: stately, celeste-and-flute ballads sit beside rockers like ‘It’s a Mirror’ and ‘No Front Teeth’ (with a spectral cameo from Aldous Harding). The surface is pristine, but there’s subtle complexity in both music and lyrics as Hadreas pries open a mildewed den full of alienation, longing and desire and lets it bask in the sunlight.

In the art deco hall of New Century, expect a set that threads the catalogue but lets Glory do the talking with songs that sting, shimmer and ultimately console.