I wasn’t expecting to doubt my sanity this afternoon, but here we are — that’s what the music of Perfume Genius can do to you. For the video to “No Front Teeth”, the latest single to his upcoming album, Glory, Mike Hadreas taps into a disorienting reality of saturated colors and sexual turbulence that feels heavily influenced by the work of David Lynch. Directed by Cody Critcheloe, the clip is a fever dream of carnal impulses and violence that exists in some bizarro alternate dimension. He is accompanied on this wild visual pilgrimage by New Zealand singer-songwriter Aldous Harding and his long-term partner Alan Wyffels. Sex is rampant, reality is fractured, and truth is obscured in clouds of drifting hormones. Normal becomes very hard to define.
The track itself is a sinewy pop song, guitars plucked then sent soaring as drums cascade against distant shores. The conversation between Hadreas and Harding is evocative, their voices ensnaring one another. We go from gently rolling tones to waves of ecstatic melodies vying for your attention. Just two songs in, and Glory is shaping up to be his most potent musical and emotional statement to date.
Watch the video below.
Glory is due out March 28 via Matador Records. You can pre-order the album here. Follow Perfume Genius on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
