PERFUME GENIUS – Learning

Mike Hadreas makes a whole lot out of a little as Perfume Genius. On his debut album Learning, he answers, possibly unintentionally, the question: “What would a Sufjan Stevens album sound like without a full band backing him up?”

Not only does Hadreas’s voice recall Steven’s boyish style, he shares the skill of creating an album of rich melodies, somehow doing it all with just his voice and a piano, for the most part. The songs also take on a narrative role, telling deeply personal stories. “Mr Petersen” tells of a high school teacher, and Hadreas lets the character shine through in lines like, “He made me a tape of Joy Division/He told me there was a part of it missing/When I was 16, he jumped off a building.”

Hadreas describes Learning as an album about “abuse, addiction, suicide, all that cool stuff.” The subject matter makes the album melancholy, but not overflowing with bitterness. Instead, Hadreas seems to be looking back on his experiences with newfound insight and wisdom.

(Matador Records, 304 Hudson St. 7th Floor, New York, NY 10013)