Perfume Genius

Over the course of two astonishing albums, Perfume Genius, aka Seattle native Mike Hadreas, cemented his place as a singer/songwriter of rare frankness, creating songs that, while achingly emotional, offered empathy and hope, rather than any judgment or Hand wringing. Sparse, gorgeous and with Hadrea's quavering vocals often only accompanied by piano, they were uncommonly beautiful tales of a life lived on the dark side. Scarred, brutalized, yet ultimately, slowly but surely reclaimed.