Critiques CD: Perfume Genius | Your Back N 2 It

Seattle-based solo artist Mike Hadreas, a.k.a. Perfume Genius, chose quite the misnomer for his second full-length ‒ don’t go into this expecting anything resembling danceable pop. Put Your Back N 2 It is comprised of slow-paced piano-and-synth songs with some especially heavy themes, from the dark side of sexuality (sexual abuse; prostitution to fulfill more than just financial need) to straight-up haunting metaphoric imagery, like in “17”, of a body stuffed in a violin, strung up on a fence. Alienating as it might feel upon first listen, Hadreas invites us into the far reaches of his mind in a beautiful way. Let it sink in and you’ll want to follow this voice through the dark. April 7^th at Divan Orange.