Perfume Genius

As the mastermind of Perfume Genius, Michael Hadreas is a classic American songwriter with romantic visions and grand designs who also makes albums that sound unprecedented, like they’re unlocking a new vision for what it means to be a classic American songwriter. Since his auspicious arrival in 2010 with the great Learning, Hadreas has steadily increased the stakes with every Perfume Genius album, not only becoming more candid with the struggles of aging, self-doubt, and queerness in this country but also becoming more audacious with experimental production choices. “Half of my whole life is gone,” he warbled at the start of 2020’s instant classic, Set My Heart on Fire Immediately, an album that scored a Springsteen-sized sense of grandeur with brilliantly subtle arrangements. Maybe that’s true, but 2025’s Glory proclaims that Perfume Genius is still evolving—itself a powerful proof of life.

Hadreas has long worked with the likes of producer Blake Mills, guitar wonder Meg Duffy, session legend Jim Keltner, and pianist and partner Alan Wyffels. But for Glory, Hadreas allowed them into his insular world of shaping his songs, expanding both the scope and sounds of the tunes. An anthem for the introvert whose life depends on performing in public, “It’s a Mirror” stretches an Elliott Smith-like lament with post-rock might. “Full On” is one of the most affecting ballads in the Perfume Genius catalogue, its reflections on the underbelly of masculinity graced by his falsetto and a wondrously warped waltz. Perfume Genius isn’t deliberately reshaping ideas of what it means to be a songwriter; it’s just the profound consequence of Hadreas’ simple, central aim to express himself.