Perfume Genius

Michael Hadreas turned a bruising adolescence in suburban Seattle into some of the most tender songwriting of the past two decades. As Perfume Genius, a name borrowed from the perfumer in Tom Tykwer's Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, he works in a pop and rock vocabulary that shifts between hushed piano and fuzzed-up guitar. His songs have dealt with sexuality, Crohn's disease, domestic abuse and the dangers gay men face, and they were shaped by his own experience of threats at school and a later attack near home.

He began recording in Seattle in 2005 and set up a MySpace page in 2008. Learning, made largely at home, came out in 2010 on Matador in the US and drew an 8.2 from Pitchfork. Pianist Alan Wyffels joined him for that tour and still plays with him. Put Your Back N 2 It followed in 2012, and Too Bright, co-produced by Portishead's Adrian Utley, arrived in 2014, with "Queen" performed on Letterman. No Shape (2017), produced by Blake Mills, was named Best New Album by Pitchfork. Set My Heart on Fire Immediately appeared in 2020, and Ugly Season, written for a Kate Wallich dance piece, in 2022.