Put Your Back N 2 It Matador*****

Mike Hadreas' first record, Learning,comprised just skeletal piano, voice and reverb, yet was shattering in its poetry and effect. This, his second, is more expansive in terms of instruments, sometimes taking in cello or guitar (as on No Tear, Take Me Homeand Dark Parts), but remains an exploration of complex emotions: recovering from damage with the searing delicacy of Normal Song; the vulnerability of giving everything on the unexpectedly uplifting Hood; and the deeply loving result such honesty can bring on the atmospheric, Badalamenti-like masterpiece Put Your Back N 2 It.Hadreas is a rare talent, filtering Edna St Vincent Millay's poetry ( Dirge), low hymnals ( All Waters)and ambient gems ( Floating Spit), with a graceful voice and visceral creativity. A modern classic. matadorrecords.com/perfume_genius

Download tracks: No Tear, 17, Dark Parts, Sister SongPut Your Back N 2 It