My theory is as follows: as long as Mike Hadreas—the guy behind Perfume Genius—was (warning: trendy expression coming up) living his queer identity in self-shame, his music was raw, bare, direct, intimate, moving, and his album covers revealed nothing of him. When he started to embrace that identity and wear it like a badge of honor, he exposed himself on his covers and in his videos; his music became more elaborate, the production lush and more in-your-face. Now, you’re with me, right? As true Elliott Smith fans, around here we love things that are raw, bare, direct, intimate, and moving—so we keep looking… and on the latest album, we find something that takes us back to the beginning.

Ma théorie est la suivante : tant que Mike Hadreas, le gars qui se cache derrière Perfume Genius, vivait (attention, expression à la mode) son identité queer dans la honte de soi, sa musique était crue, nue, directe, intime, touchante, et ses pochettes ne dévoilaient rien de lui. Quand il a commencé à revendiquer cette identité et à la porter en étendard, il s’est exposé sur ses pochettes et dans ses clips ; sa musique s’est étoffée, la production est devenue luxuriante et plus rentre-dedans. Maintenant, vous me suivez : en tant que bons fans d’Elliott Smith, ici, on aime les trucs crus, nus, directs, intimes et touchants, alors on cherche… et sur le dernier, on trouve quelque chose qui nous renverrait à ses débuts.