Perfume Genius

Perfume Genius functions as the musical outlet for singer-songwriter Mike Hadreas, encompassing delicate piano ballads alongside bold glam-rock gestures while addressing trauma and recovery through direct, frequently lyrical candor. Early domestic recordings, many later included on the 2010 debut Learning, created an intimate rapport with audiences that endured unchanged even as the arrangements grew denser on the biting 2014 breakthrough Too Bright, the intricate assemblages of the Grammy-nominated No Shape in 2017, and the exuberant release of Set My Heart on Fire Immediately in 2020 together with Ugly Season in 2022. Toward the close of the decade, Hadreas’ partnerships with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bronski Beat, and Low’s Alan Sparhawk showcased the reach of his compassionate artistry.

Born in Des Moines, Iowa and raised in Everett, Washington, Hadreas endured bullying tied to his sexuality and responded by painting, writing, and absorbing the work of artists such as PJ Harvey and Liz Phair. While enrolled at Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts, he required hospitalization following an assault by several young men near his residence. After recuperating, he relocated to Brooklyn and spent several years employed at a bar before returning to Everett in 2005 for rehabilitation and subsequently living with his mother and stepfather.

In that setting he began composing songs that paired unflinching lyrics with basic piano lines. By 2008 he had adopted the name Perfume Genius, drawn from the film Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, and started posting his material on MySpace alongside comparably austere and evocative homemade videos. Turnstile Records issued his first single, “Mr. Peterson,” the following year, recounting the story of a suicidal pedophile high-school teacher. Hadreas also secured a deal with Matador Records, which released the full-length debut Learning in June 2010. To support the album on tour, he enlisted classically trained pianist Alan Wyffels, whom he had met in group therapy; the two later became partners, with Wyffels contributing to subsequent Perfume Genius tours and recordings. These releases encompassed the still more personal Put Your Back N 2 It in February 2012 and the ferocious Too Bright in September 2014, which merged glam-rock bravado and early PJ Harvey influences with Hadreas’ mounting impatience toward everyday homophobia. Featuring Portishead’s Adrian Utley and longtime Harvey associate John Parish, the album signaled a commercial advance, reaching number ten on the Top Alternative Albums chart, number 83 on the Billboard 200, and number 77 on the U.K. Albums Chart.

Perfume Genius resurfaced with fresh material in 2016, joining Sharon Van Etten for a version of the Grateful Dead’s “To Lay Me Down” on Day of the Dead, the Red Hot Organization’s tribute album benefiting global AIDS/HIV initiatives. That September, Hadreas also unveiled a cover of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” which appeared in Prada’s fragrance campaign for La Femme and L’Homme. He recorded the fourth album, No Shape, in Los Angeles with producer Blake Mills. Drawing on gospel, goth pop, and soul, the set arrived in May 2017 and reached number 185 on the Billboard 200 while peaking at number 96 on the U.K. Albums Chart. Beyond widespread acclaim, No Shape earned a Grammy nomination for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, with Mills additionally nominated for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical. The 2018 EP Reshaped collected No Shape remixes by Mura Masa, King Princess, Blake Mills, and others.

Hadreas next composed and performed for The Sun Still Burns Here, a dance work choreographed by Kate Wallich and performed by her company the YC; the collaboration left a deep impression that shaped Perfume Genius’ fifth album. Reuniting with Mills, the looser and more expansive Set My Heart on Fire Immediately incorporated dance-pop, country, and the anthemic sweep of Bruce Springsteen and appeared in May 2020. Another critical favorite, it climbed to number 18 on the Top Alternative Albums chart and number seven on the U.K. Independent Albums chart. Immediately Remixes followed in March 2021. A December 2021 remix of Charli XCX’s “Good Ones” preceded the June 2022 release of Ugly Season, which drew on the earlier dance-piece score and moved between experimental passages and danceable pop. Co-produced by Hadreas and Mills, the album was accompanied by a short film from visual artist Jacolby Satterwhite, previously a collaborator on Solange’s When I Get Home. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs track “Spitting Off the Edge of the World,” featuring Perfume Genius, received a 2023 Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Performance.

Throughout 2024 Hadreas contributed original songs to the film National Anthem, lent vocals to Fashion Club’s A Love You Cannot Shake, and joined the Knocks and Bronski Beat for a rendition of “Smalltown Boy” included on the 40th-anniversary edition of The Age of Consent. He also partnered with Low’s Alan Sparhawk on a cover of “Point of Disgust” for TRAИƧA, the Red Hot Organization’s anthology honoring trans artists. To mark the tenth anniversary of Too Bright, a special edition was issued containing three previously unreleased tracks written during the album’s creation and recorded in 2024.