7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
For indie rocker Perfume Genius, performing is the antidote to isolation
On the eve of his latest North America tour as Perfume Genius, Mike Hadreas is focused, he says, on finding 'the perfect stackable chair.'
'I'm concerned that my chair is too heavy,' the indie rocker explains. 'I want to be able to lift it — and throw it, potentially.'
Figuring out the stage choreography — and how the chair fits in — is something Hadreas says he'll workshop throughout his tour, which kicks off in Phoenix on May 30. The 43-year-old singer-songwriter, who came to prominence in 2010 with an emotionally raw debut album, will perform a WorldPride concert at 9:30 Club on June 7.
Hadreas is speaking on a video call from his home in Los Angeles, between sips of Diet Coke. He loves the stuff, he says — so much so that the soda was featured in the music video for 'It's a Mirror,' the lead song on his new album, 'Glory.'
Hadreas declines to reveal just how many Diet Coke cans he drinks each day. 'But it's a lot,' he says with a smirk.
This tour comes about two months after the March release of 'Glory,' Hadreas's seventh studio album as Perfume Genius. The energetic, grungy, guitar-laden album explores themes like isolation and anxiety, death, and the anticipation of grief.
Hadreas's earlier music grappled with issues like homophobia and sexual abuse. His latest album is born out of fears that first reared their heads during the covid-19 pandemic.
'Death just feels like something that's going to happen to me. And it didn't used to feel like that,' the Seattle native says. 'It became like an obsession.'
The song 'Left for Tomorrow,' for instance, sees Hadreas imagining a life without his mother. The song's themes took on new relevance when his beloved Chihuahua, Wanda, was killed by a snake about six months after the album was completed.
But writing about those fears helped, Hadreas says, because it gave him a way to channel his emotions.
'It just becomes like a relief,' he says. 'I feel way more confident and smart when I'm writing than I do just walking around town.'
That's also part of the point of the album. Rather than conquering your fears, perhaps it's enough to simply live with them, he says.
'The music is better when it feels risky and you feel a little like you don't have the answers,' he says. 'It's like exposure therapy. Actually saying what you're afraid of, instead of frantically trying to not be afraid.'
Though isolation is a central theme of 'Glory,' producing the album itself was more of a collaborative effort than some of Hadreas's previous works, he says. Among the contributors was his longtime partner and instrumentalist Alan Wyffels.
And while Hadreas has a tendency to self-isolate, especially when he's writing music, he says he also appreciates that going on tour pushes him to do the opposite.
'It's my job to be more extroverted for a while,' he says. 'Tour is how I'm social. It forces me to be less isolated.'
June 7 at 6 p.m. at 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. $41.
