Mistletone

Mistletone is proud to present the triumphant return of Perfume Genius. Seattle native Mike Hadreas – aka Perfume Genius – brings his four piece band to Australia in February to perform songs from his profoundly beautiful new album Too Bright, out now on Remote Control. Tickets for all shows on sale now.

PERFUME GENIUS TOUR DATES:

• MELBOURNE: Sunday February 15 @ The Corner with special guest Aldous Harding. Tickets on sale now from Corner Presents. Presented by Triple R.
• SYDNEY: Wednesday February 18 @ Oxford Art Factory with special guest Aldous Harding. Tickets on sale now from Moshtix. Presented by 2SER.
• BRISBANE: Thursday February 19 @ The Brightside with special guests Seja + McKisko. Tickets on sale now from Oztix. Presented by 4ZZZ.
• PERTH: Friday February 13 @ Perth Festival – Chevron Festival Gardens, 8:00PM. Tickets on sale now from Perth Festival.

• “Hadreas’ sexuality is obviously a huge part of his work, but he’s above all a human—one who’s spoken about battling addiction and sickness and sadness, and one who possesses the ability to write about it in a way that feels universal. A huge part of what makes the work so strong is the generous human spirit that bleeds into it, and Too Bright is the best example to date of the lengths he goes to confront his fears and demons. These songs feel less like songs and more like treasures, ones that fill you with power and wisdom” – PITCHFORK Best New Music (8.5 out of 10)

Over the course of two astonishing albums, Perfume Genius cemented his place as a singer-songwriter of rare frankness, creating songs that, while achingly emotional, offered empathy and hope, rather than any judgment or handwringing. Sparse, gorgeous and with Hadreas’ quavering vocals often only accompanied by piano, they were uncommonly beautiful tales of a life lived on the dark side – scarred, brutalised, yet ultimately, slowly but surely reclaimed.

The third album from Perfume Genius, Too Bright, builds on the exquisite piano ballads Hadreas has become known for, but is less self-conscious and less concerned with storytelling and easily-digested melodies. It is a brave, bold, unpredictably quixotic exploration of what Hadreas calls “an underlying rage that has slowly been growing since ten and has just begun to bubble up”. Recorded with Adrian Utley of Portishead and featuring John Parish on several tracks, it is a stunning about-face which brings to mind audacious career-shift albums like Kate Bush’s The Dreaming or Scott Walker’s Tilt, records which walk the tightrope between pure songwriting and overt experimentation.

• “Too Bright creates a captive audience in its effusive refusal to let you look away. It kicks down the furniture of song structure and ferociously retches up its choruses, gripping onto your gaze with its dazzling contortions, its unapologetic too much-ness. Stare at the sun just a bit too long and you’ll get spots on your vision; listen to this album a while and it might start to reshape the way you see” – FACT MAGAZINE ★★★★ 4 stars