Perfume Genius, aka Mike Hadreas, has announced the follow up to his breakout 2014 album Too Bright. Set to arrive on May 5, No Shape is said to build on the style of earlier anthems like “Queen” by “merging church music, make-out music, R&B, art pop, krautrock, and queer soul.”
Our first look at his new work has been revealed today, with the release of the playfully dark, folklore-style video for first single “Slip Away,” directed by Björk collaborator Andrew Thomas Huang. Hadreas plays one of two sisters, lost in an idyllic but twisted folklore fantasy, complete with forbidden fruit and Morris dancer-style goblins.
In a statement about the upcoming album and the ideas behind it, Hadreas muses, “I pay my rent. I’m approaching health. The things that are bothering me personally now are less clear, more confusing. I don’t think I really figured them out with these songs. There’s something freeing about how I don’t have it figured out. Unpacking little morsels, magnifying my discomfort, wading through buried harm, laughing at or digging into the embarrassing drama of it all. I may never come out the other side but it’s invigorating to try and hopefully, ultimately helpful. I think a lot of them are about trying to be happy in the face of whatever bullshit I created for myself or how horrible everything and everyone is.”
The album artwork, also revealed today, shows a figure in split-leg black leather pants with a white shirt, standing in front of a dreamy landscape painting, with the album title appears to be written on in red nail varnish. The track listing reveals a collaboration with Weyes Blood — not a complete surprise, after their joint festival appearance at Marfa Myths last week. Check out the artwork and track list below.
track list:
1. Otherside
2. Slip Away
3. Just Like Love
4. Go Ahead
5. Valley
6. Wreath
7. Every Night
8. Choir
9. Die 4 You
10. Sides (feat. Weyes Blood)
11. Braid
12. Run Me Through
13. Alan
Credits
Text Charlotte Gush
Photography Inez and Vinoodh