Ugly Season

Perfume Genius

Mike Hadreas has gone off the deep end. There was no doubt an artistic and experimental streak that ran through his more recent records, but Ugly Season features some of Hadreas' darkest and abstract material to date. Within the collection, originally prepared to be a companion to Kate Wallich's contemporary dance piece The Sun Still Burns Here, you will find: medieval opera suites (Herem), euphoric dance club meditations (Eye In the Wall), and perplexing free-form compositions (Scherzo). Even during the album's most accessible moments, like the ironically titled Pop Song, Hadreas still makes some rather unorthodox decisions. In the case of that song specifically, the main harmonic component is this staccato island-like synthesizer that stutters in this really off-kilter rhythm. The vocals are super dry and very up front while the percussion is actually buried quite deep. However, while Ugly Season does have curious production and instrumental choices, I'm sadly not falling head over heels for these songs.

I wouldn't say there's a bad song on here - except for in the case of the title track; a hazy, reggae inspired cut that I really don't care for - but by the end of the album, I find my patience is being tested. There's a few songs here that feel a little too long winded and formless to hold my attention. Thankfully, Ugly Season is jolted back to life with the song Hellbent. The song is underpinned by this tremolo'd, wind turbine-like, bass synth that communicates a sense of urgency for perhaps the first time on the record. Interestingly, the track has no discernible rhythm at points as drum elements cut in and out and Hadreas riffs on his vocal rhythm as he repeats this simple vocal melody. There's also this fuzzy, blown out sound who's origin I can't quite pinpoint, but it begins the track with overwhelming feedback and returns later for an unlikely little solo. I think it's a wonderfully odd track that really manages to capture me unlike the rest of the experiments here. Overall, I think it was really cool to see Hadreas put the 'art' in art-pop, experimenting with wild abandon to create something so unlike anything else he has created. For that, he does score points. For me though, I think Ugly Season floats in this weird limbo state between a project that isn't wild enough to make a serious impression, and a project that isn't catchy enough to beg me to come back.