Perfume Genius - No Shape
Critic Score
Based on 35 reviews
2017 Ratings: #40 / 940
Year End Rank: #14
User Score
2017 Rank: #42
Liked by 186 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
DIY

‘No Shape’ is a more inward-gazing masterclass in kitschy indulgence and raw honesty alike; a bold, brash record that veers from shrieking gusts of operatic frenzy to crackling emotion, without batting an eyelid.

100
NOW Magazine
Hadreas started out making fragile lo-fi piano ballads about suicide, trauma and sexual abuse, and with each album his confidence as a singer and adventurousness as a songwriter/arranger have unfurled, all leading to this, his most vivid, joyous release to date.
100
The Skinny

Perfume Genius’ magic lies in transforming struggle into folklore, mythologizing a daily endurance against patriarchal bullshit. These are vital hymns to unite and strengthen.

95
The 405

Where Too Bright was often cold, stark, mechanical and dark as tar, No Shape is warm, technicolour, alive and filled with light.

90
Crack Magazine

No Shape is Mike Hadreas’ fourth – and arguably greatest – album as Perfume Genius. It sees the Seattle songwriter explore themes of spirituality, religion and intangible deities, across a mesmeric, drifting soundscape which expands robustly and takes new forms.

90
God Is in the TV

Just like on, Too Bright, this album is another leap forward, only this time round he hasn’t just outdone himself, he’s outdone everyone else. No Shape is an astonishing record.

90
Spectrum Culture

Hadreas spends nearly all of No Shape seeing his spirit ascending beyond his mortal body, but, in the final moments, it’s just him and Alan, cuddling in bed. It’s there that Hadreas finds transcendence—in the arms of his partner.

90
The Line of Best Fit

With strident chords, spiralling melodies, and a shiver inducing delivery, No Shape might spend a lot of its time searching, but in being open about that the record presents Perfume Genius at his most realised.

90
The Young Folks

No Shape is simultaneously quiet and loud, tender and driving, a force of musical power which shines the brightest in it’s still moments.

88
Pitchfork
Mike Hadreas’ fourth record is pure decadence. It’s his most realized album yet, a tender and transcendental protest record of love and devotion.
83
Pretty Much Amazing

No Shape feels more celebratory than any Perfume Genius record to date; that celebration often runs deliciously wild.

83
Consequence of Sound

No Shape may feel, to some listeners, less cohesive than past Perfume Genius records, but it makes up for that with endless inventiveness and daring passion, and it indicates that Hadreas is a musician who is only growing more vital as he develops and expands his sound.

83
A.V. Club

The new Perfume Genius often brings to mind the sort of music one listens to in a bedroom while fantasizing about escape. It has moments of populist ambition and self-consciously arty experimentation, and it’s a credit to Hadreas and producer Blake Mills that its 13 tracks sound as seamless and cohesive as they do.

82
GIGsoup
On ‘No Shape’, Perfume Genius sounds both barmy and operatic, sumptuous and expansive, without sacrificing any of his trademark tenderness; his wistful creations suit this epic pomp and grandeur.
80
Drowned in Sound

With such a range of musical stylings on one record, No Shape occasionally sounds more like a collection of songs than a unified album, at times this can be a bit stifling to the listener ... But these are minor flaws in a record with many a moment of gorgeousness.

80
Evening Standard

There’s a huge amount to explore from a musician who knows that this is his moment.

80
FLOOD Magazine
The title of Perfume Genius’s fourth album implies a certain degree of nebulousness in what Mike Hadreas has to offer—and in that sense, it’s not an entirely accurate moniker.
80
The Observer

Here, we have Hadreas’s desire to transcend his body and self – the no shape of the title – and glorious, inventive, shape-shifting music to match.

80
The Needle Drop

No Shape is Perfume Genius' grandest and most eclectic musical statement to date.

80
Record Collector
While his fourth record is still a thing of beauty, it’s a fractal work that splinters off into bursts of grandiose noise and multi-layered, multi-instrumental wonder; you’d describe it as comfortably at the opposite end of the musical spectrum to early songs like Lookout, Lookout and No Tear.
80
Q Magazine
His fourth LP feels like a statement of defiance, strength and unabashed beauty.
80
The Irish Times
Factor in a dazzling, defiant voice that bridges any noticeable gaps between Anohni, Jónsi and James Vincent McMorrow, and you have an album of authentic personality and hefty punch.
80
Mojo
A heady, volatile brew that, in these emboldened settings, have the makings of anthems.
80
Uncut

As if suddenly unleashed creatively, No Shape finds Hadreas building on Too Bright in every direction at once ... The queer subtext of Hadreas' work is the source of much of its power.

80
The Guardian

No Shape sounds like a unique talent coming into full bloom. However weird it may seem, he’s here.

80
Exclaim!

No Shape, his fourth and most immediate album, embraces the lush orchestration that he's previously only teased.

80
Under the Radar

There are simultaneous moments of pure beauty and pain, as there have been throughout Perfume Genius' work. Only now perhaps the songs don't search for beauty in suffering, but in vitality despite it.

80
AllMusic

Though No Shape shows how much his music has expanded since the Learning days, it also proves he hasn't lost any of his ability to connect with listeners. Instead, it reveals him as a sonic adventurer and truth teller who's made some of his most compulsively listenable music.

80
musicOMH

With his third record he edged slowly towards the mainstream, but with No Shape, he might just have snuck in. Now sober and settled down, it feels like this is his natural home; his previous records were part of a cathartic process, almost medicinal, to help him reach this point.

80
Tiny Mix Tapes

These pop-forward moments are frontloaded on No Shape, extravagant and baroque. The soaring production value is not accompanied by conceptual upending or reinvention, but rather extends into a grand sort of sequel vision of Perfume Genius. 

70
Northern Transmissions
While there’s so much about this album that’s amazingly fearless and beautiful, these are sparing moments in a grander, and not overly cohesive piece.
70
Clash
Key to Hadreas’ appeal is his ability to sing a refrigerator manual and probably bring you to tears. ... Overall ‘No Shape’ sees a new exciting chapter for Perfume Genius, one that’s happy to fully throw off the image of the tortured artist for brighter, bolder entity. The future looks a little brighter.
70
Rolling Stone

His fourth Perfume Genius LP ... by his standards feels startlingly optimistic, with pop and rock tropes queered into dreamlike scenarios.

70
PopMatters

As its title suggests, No Shape is playfully elusive, and the album is often content simply to create beauty while remaining agnostic about what lies beneath its surface. The result is an ironically more luminous and even joyful listen than the darker Too Bright.

40
Loud and Quiet

I shouldn’t have first listened to Perfume Genius’ fourth album with a hangover. In this depleted state all ‘No Shape’ does is push the burgeoning headache around my brain, very slowly, producing a sensation like thin metallic worms boring right into the grey matter.

BGL13
86

hi everyone, to celebrate pride month, i will listen to one critically acclaimed album (or just one that is on my to listen list for one reason or another) made by an lgbtq+ artist that i have not yet heard for every month of june. to kick this series off, i chose no shape by perfume genius. now, there isn’t any specific reason i chose to start off with this album other than the fact that it was the one i was most excited to listen to. i absolutely adored last years set my heart on fire ... read more

lemuriams
94

PERFUME GENIUS CREATED A MASTERPIECE - Previous albums are great, but this one is full of variety - You can hear the inspiration of Arca, Fka Twigs, Kate Bush Bjork Aphex Twin and the whole trip hop world, but he connects these worlds to the whole. EVERYTHING IS IN THIS ALBUM IS FRESH AS NEVER - there is no copying of patterns here, just creating a new one.
Choir sets new roads in music.

I'm afraid no one will break this album this year, because Perfume Genius has reached the heaven.

scott96k
83

Loud and Quiet get the fuck outta here

http://soulfeederweb.com/2017/05/perfume-genius-no-shape-album-review/

EDIT: Still think this is a gorgeous album, just not as in love with it now opposed to when it first came out.

MRLULTRA20
NR

This started with a surprisingly amazing bang and then it ended with a beautiful roar

Kiwo
86

his most palatable work, I would say
nothing here is too exaggerated but it is very functional and overall it is a very well done work and wonderfully pleasant to consume, a delight. SIDES is perfection, I need them both together on a new song

R3LIC7
92

Absolutely stunning album

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Track List

1Otherside
2:40
92
2Slip Away
2:45
94
3Just Like Love
3:14
90
4Go Ahead
2:53
82
5Valley
3:09
86
6Wreath
4:26
90
7Every Night
2:47
85
8Choir
2:28
87
9Die 4 You
3:32
89
10Sides
4:52
91
11Braid
2:58
86
12Run Me Through
4:44
84
13Alan
2:46
88
Total Length: 43 minutes
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Added on: March 21, 2017