Perfume Genius - Glory

Glory has a pristine surface and a tender, roiling core. Mike Hadreas’ seventh album as Perfume Genius is bold and muscular, powered by the fiercest band he’s ever assembled—longtime partner Alan Wyffels, producer Blake Mills, guitarists Meg Duffy and Greg Uhlmann, drummers Tim Carr and Jim Keltner, and bassist Pat Kelly. Together, they channel Hadreas’ macabre wit and emotional candour toward something deeply humane.

At the heart of Glory lies the tension between internal and external worlds. After years of touring and public life, Hadreas embraced a new, more collaborative songwriting process, inviting his bandmates to help shape the record’s vivid, often surreal arrangements. “I’m still on some wild tear,” he says, “but there’s more access and it’s more collaborative... which makes it better, but also scary—because it feels more vulnerable.”

Across 11 concise tracks, Hadreas sketches a cast of strange, moving characters—Dion, Angel, Tate, and the returning Jason from Set My Heart On Fire Immediately. Scenes of desire, alienation, and queer intimacy unfold through a dreamy, off-kilter lens. The result is both abstract and sharply observed—each song a small, glimmering world.

Glory is Perfume Genius at his most expansive and alive: a record of emotional precision, radiant textures, and fearless honesty. A true high point in an already singular career.