Put Your Back N 2 It

iTunes Review

Perfume Genius, a.k.a. Mike Hadreas, built an audience with his 2010 debut album, Learning, eventually leaving his home studio’s comforts to tour as Beirut’s opening act. His return to recording is largely unaffected by his change in fortune. His songs are still extremely personal, still strikingly delicate, and, if anything, even more elusive. He throws prospective fans off with a title that sounds hip-hop and then goes about crafting tunes that struggle, in many cases, to pass the three-minute mark. Within that compact structure, Hadreas creates mini-symphonies that are lush and intricate, centered on piano and a voice that breaks into a falsetto worthy of Antony Hegarty of Antony & The Johnsons. The brevity here means the album passes in a quick barrage of sounds, with moments so fleeting that it might require listeners to replay the songs several times to wring all the beauty from them. "Normal Song", "17”, and "Take Me Home" could be pop songs for people who like their hooks with less spunk and aggression, who believe in the joy found in somber meditations, and who enjoy serious fun.