Album Review: Perfume Genius, Glory

Glory is something of a reset record for Perfume Genius, after the massive impact of 2020’s Set My Heart On Fire Immediately. Universally lauded, that record led to PG sharing stages with big kahunas Tame Impala and Death Cab For Cutie, while in 2022, they were Grammy-nominated for a Yeah Yeah Yeahs collaboration.

There has been a record in between, the fantastic Ugly Season, made at the same time as SMHOFI – indeed, they were originally slated to be released the other way around. So, by reset, I don’t mean any drop in standard. In fact, songs here such as the immediate earworm ‘Left For Tomorrow’, and the simply superb ‘No Front Teeth’ – containing a star turn from the brilliant Aldous Harding – should set Glory for the heart of the sun.

Rather, this collection feels constructed from the ground up. There’s the jaunty folk riff that opens lead single ‘It’s A Mirror’; the sparse beats that unveil ‘Clean Heart’; and the ornate piano sequences at the beginning of ‘Me & Angel’ and ‘Dion’. After these stylish intros, PG gradually adds musical layers.

The album’s gestation was not easy, a bout of depression experienced during Covid dragging up old demons. But any sense of despair is marvellously braised with a searing wit. The claustrophobic ‘In A Row’, for example, is a vile tale of kidnapping, until the captive begins to enjoy his ordeal, and look forward to the inspiration the experience will conjure.

It’s wink and weep stuff – and ultimately terrific.

8/10