Albums to watch

Set My Heart On Fire Immediately

Perfume Genius

Set My Heart On Fire Immediately

Fifth album from Seattle-based indie pop solo artist Mike Hadreas produced by Blake Mills (Laura Marling, Jesca Hoop, Fiona Apple)

ADM rating[?]

8.8

Label
Matador
UK Release date
15/05/2020
US Release date
15/05/2020
  1. 10.0 |   DIY

    Brimming with a palpable, passionate sense of exploration
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  2. 10.0 |   The Guardian

    Backed by starry session musicians, Mike Hadreas makes wild but confident leaps between styles on this rich, fascinating LP
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  3. 10.0 |   The Irish Times

    Perfume Genius is ultimately a pop star; a clever, singular, and considered one, in an over-saturated, under-stimulating landscape, his sensibility ignites
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  4. 10.0 |   The Independent

    There’s a silver thread woven into each of these songs; Hadreas pulls and they move like a single breathing thing, just as bodies do when they’re pressed against each other, then released
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  5. 10.0 |   musicOMH

    His sound is defiantly Queer, yet undoubtedly universal. It is romantic and sensual but also introverted and unusual
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  6. 10.0 |   Gig Soup

    Mike Hadreas' best work to date
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  7. 9.5 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    Hadreas may be uncompromising but stubbornness has its rewards: few albums feel as distinct or as complete as his
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  8. 9.0 |   All Music

    All the nuances of desire that Hadreas explores on Set My Heart on Fire, Immediately enhance the individuality of each song, as well as his own individuality - and as he honors every part of his music and himself, he gives listeners another rich, densely packed album to savor
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  9. 9.0 |   Crack

    It’s meticulous in its melancholy, and that’s what makes it both so personal and exceptionally universal
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  10. 9.0 |   Beats Per Minute

    Hadreas is, as the greedily and sensuously impatient imperative of its title makes clear, finally demanding more feeling, more experience, more of everything, for himself – and the results make for a revelatory listen
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  11. 9.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    This would appear on the face of it to be the most measured that Hadreas has ever sounded. Repeat listens, though, reveal that to be a mirage
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  12. 9.0 |   Exclaim

    An enormous, cavernous record – the kind that invites you to sit inside and let your fears and triumphs echo against its glittering walls
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  13. 9.0 |   Pitchfork

    Mike Hadreas’ fifth album glides between sublime melodies and grimy, guttural dissonance, embracing the joys and burdens of the human body and its innumerable, intangible yearnings
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  14. 9.0 |   The Quietus

    Slipping between almost industrial-like rhythms and carefree pop songs, Perfume Genius produces his finest body of work to date

  15. 9.0 |   No Ripcord

    Set My Heart on Fire Immediately isn’t a perfect album. There are a couple of wormholes that Hadreas gets lost down and the sequencing causes a slightly jilted second half, but once these songs nestle in, they’re impossible to shift
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  16. 9.0 |   PopMatters

    You need to care so much about your art to pack this much meaning into not only the words, but the tones that adorn and deliver them. Perfume Genius cares so much it hurts on Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
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  17. 9.0 |   Northern Transmissions

    Set My Heart on Fire Immediately is attentively and intelligently constructed. At the same time, the album doesn’t feel overthought or overly intricate. It’s Hadreas’ personal, idiosyncratic take on pop music, but it’s also one that’s easy to appreciate
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  18. 8.5 |   Under The Radar

    An album that shows why Perfume Genius continues to be an essential voice in our musical landscape
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  19. 8.0 |   Evening Standard

    A bold and intense examination of love and sex
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  20. 8.0 |   The Music

    Brilliantly realised pop songs packed with instantly likeable melodies and hooks, but also with great emotional depth
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  21. 8.0 |   NME

    Mike Hadreas takes inspiration from classic pop, drawing on Cyndi Lauper and Elvis, but deconstructs the sounds in his own understated way
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  22. 8.0 |   Clash

    A record that feels like it’s been beamed in from a distant star, sounding something like a near and possible future
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  23. 8.0 |   Mojo

    A slow burner, in every way. Print edition only

  24. 8.0 |   Paste Magazine

    Mike Hadreas’ contorted fifth album finds both pain and pleasure in the body-brain divide
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  25. 8.0 |   Spectrum Culture

    Hadreas continues to embrace pop while simultaneously bending it to his will
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  26. 8.0 |   Sputnik Music (staff)

    Most of the directions here are well-conceived and prove that he’s an artist with no rigid boundaries when it comes to vision, creativity, and potential
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  27. 8.0 |   Rolling Stone

    His most ambitious yet
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  28. 6.0 |   The FT

    A febrile and self-exploratory collection of songs that reflect on sexuality and musical personality
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