No Shape by Perfume Genius
2014’s 'Too Bright' showcased Mike Hadreas stepping out saucily onto a bigger stage, expressing, with the production help of Portishead’s Adrian Utley, emotions arranged all along the slippery continuum from rage to irony to love.
Here in 13 new ferocious and sophisticated tracks, Mike Hadreas and his collaborators blow through church music, makeout music, an array of the gothier radio popular formats, rhythm and blues, art pop, krautrock, queer soul, the RCA Studio B sound, and then also collect some of the sounds that only exist inside Freddy Krueger. Tremolo on the electric keys. Nightclubbing. Daywalking. Kate Bushing, Peter Greenawaying, Springsteening, Syreetaing.
No Shape was produced by Blake Mills, the man behind Alabama Shakes’ Grammy Award winning album. He added precision and expansion. Some things are pretty and some are blasted beyond recognition.
Records like this, records that make you feel like you’re 15 and just seeing the truth for the first time, are excessively rare. They’re here to remind you that you’re divine.
Tracklist
| 1. | Otherside | 2:40 |
| 2. | Slip Away | 2:45 |
| 3. | Just Like Love | 3:16 |
| 4. | Go Ahead | 2:54 |
| 5. | Valley | 3:10 |
| 6. | Wreath | 4:27 |
| 7. | Every Night | 2:48 |
| 8. | Choir | 2:29 |
| 9. | Die 4 You | 3:33 |
| 10. | Perfume Genius feat. Weyes Blood - Sides | 4:52 |
| 11. | Braid | 2:58 |
| 12. | Run Me Through | 4:45 |
| 13. | Alan | 2:47 |
Credits
Mike Hadreas - Piano, synthesizer, trumpet, vocals, wurlitzer
Alan Wyffels - Fender Rhodes, synthesizer, vocals, background vocals
Blake Mills - Bass, celeste, drums, guitar, baritone guitar, guitarron, kora, marimba, marxophone, mellotron, omnichord, organ, percussion, piano, programming, synthesizer, tabla, vocals, background vocals, woodwind
Rob Moose - String Arrangements, viola, violin
Clay Blair - Vocals on track 1
Chris Dave - Drums on track 12, percussion on track 12
Chris Doerr - Vocals on track 1
Shawn Everett - Synthesizer on track 13
Stuart Johnson - Cymbals on tracks 3 & 9, drums on track 2, percussion on tracks 2 & 4
Joseph Lorge - Vocals on track 1
Becca Luce - Vocals on track 1
Natalie Mering - Vocals on track 11
Pino Palladino - Bass on track 12
All songs written by Mike Hadreas except "Go Ahead" with contributions from Blake Mills, "Die 4 You" with contributions from Blake Mills, and "Sides" with contributions from Blake Mills and Natalie Mering
Produced by Blake Mills
Engineered by Joseph Lorge and Shawn Everett
Mixed by Shawn Everett
Mastered by Patricia Sullivan at Bernie Grundman Mastering
Artwork by Inez + Vinoodh
Design by Mike Zimmerman
2017, Matador Records
