Mike Hadreas, better known as Perfume Genius, will return with his sixth album, Ugly Season, this June. Ahead of the album’s release, Hadreas has already shared the haunting “Eye In The Wall” and the plucky, harpsichord-ridden “Pop Song,” both of which came out in 2019. These tracks were first shared as part of Hadreas’ immersive dance piece, The Sun Still Burns Here choreographed by Kate Wallich.
The Sun Still Burns Here was commissioned by the Seattle Theatre Group and Mass MoCA and performed in residencies in Seattle, Minneapolis, New York City, and Boston. The songs of Ugly Season were written as accompaniment for The Sun Still Burns Here.
In addition to the 10 songs of The Sun Still Burns Here finally becoming available for the public, Ugly Season will be accompanied by a short film directed by Jacolby Satterwhite. Satterwhite, known for his visual projects seen at MoMa, The Smithsonian, The Whitney, and the Studio Museum of Harlem, previously directed the accompanying short film for Solange’s When I Get Home.
“This project is the genesis of a whole new direction that I’m taking, one that I’ve been thinking about within this endemic culture, since 2020,” said Satterwhite in a statement. “Mike and I are both writing scripts. My visual narrative serendipitously mirrors the lyrical direction in his music; it’s a rare, like-minded bond. It’s a creation myth. How do you architecturally mold and render an idealized version of utopia? It’s about making something that you desire so beyond your scope that it’s hard to grapple into a concrete form.”
You can view the tracklist for Ugly Season below.
1. “Just A Room”
2. “Here”
3. “Teeth”
4. “Pop Song”
5. “Scherzo”
6. “Ugly Season”
7. “Eye In The Wall”
8. “Photograph”
9. “Hellbent”
10. “Cenote”
Ugly Season out 6/17 via Matador. Pre-save it here.
