''No Shape'' is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter

Perfume Genius Michael Alden Hadreas (born September 25, 1981), better known by his stage name Perfume Genius, is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Hadreas's music explores topics including sexuality, his personal struggle with Crohn's disease, dome ...

, released on May 5, 2017, through

Matador Records Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of mainly indie rock, but also punk rock, experimental rock, alternative rock, and electronic acts. History Matador was created in 1989 by Chris Lombardi in his New York City ap ...

as the follow-up to ''

Too Bright ''Too Bright'' is the third studio album by American singer Perfume Genius, released on September 23, 2014. The album reached number 77 on the UK albums chart and peaked at number 83 in the United States Billboard 200. Critical reception ' ...

'' (2014).

Background

Hadreas was featured on the cover of the March–April 2017 issue of ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' is a magazine established in 1999 as an outlet for Cornerstone Agency, a marketing and public relations firm established by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. History and work It is owned by T ...

'', which included a lengthy feature on Hadreas and his work on the next album. In the weeks following the article, Hadreas posted a number of video and audio clips teasing new music. On March 21, 2017 Hadreas announced his fourth studio album ''No Shape'' and released the first single "Slip Away", which was accompanied by a music video directed by frequent

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

collaborator Andrew Thomas Huang. The single was designated "Best New Track" by ''Pitchfork''. On April 19, Hadreas released another single from the album called "Go Ahead" during a live

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

Q&A with fans. On May 9, 2017 Perfume Genius released the video for "Die 4 You", directed by Floria Sigismondi.

Reception

Accolades

The album received a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

nomination for “Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical” at the

60th Annual Grammy Awards The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 28, 2018. The CBS network broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was moved to January to avoid coinciding with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongch ...

. Additionally, it was noted as one of the works designated under producer Blake Mills’ nomination for “Producer of the Year, Non-Classical.”

Track listing

Personnel

Performance * Mike Hadreas – vocals , piano , synthesizer ,

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

, trumpet noises , congregation vocals *

Blake Mills Blake Mathew Simon Mills (born September 21, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and composer based in California. He is known for production and guitar work on albums and singles by many artists, including Fiona Apple, ...

– piano , synthesizer , vocals ,

marimba The marimba ( ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the mari ...

, guitars , drums , percussion ,

tabla A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...

s , bass ,

baritone guitar The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Sche ...

Marxophone The Marxophone is a fretless zither played via a system of metal hammers. It features two octaves of double melody strings in the key of C major (middle C to C''), and four sets of chord strings (C major, G major, F major, and D7). Sounding ...

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...

, guitarron , organ , kora , celeste ,

Omnichord The Omnichord is an electronic musical instrument introduced in 1981 by the Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation. It allows users to play distinctive harp-like arpeggios produced through an electronic strum plate, simulating the experience of ...

, woodwinds , congregation vocals * Stuart Johnson – drums , percussion , cymbals , *

Rob Moose Rob Moose (born 1982) is an American multi-instrumentalist, arranger, producer, conductor, and orchestrator. He primarily plays the violin, viola, and guitar. Early life and education Moose was born in 1982. He was raised in Windsor, Connec ...

– violin , viola , string arrangements * Alan Wyffels – backing vocals , synthesizer , vocals ,

Rhodes piano The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

, piano * Natalie Mering – vocals *

Pino Palladino Giuseppe Henry "Pino" Palladino (born 17 October 1957) is a Welsh musician, songwriter, and record producer. A session bassist, he has played bass for a number of acts such as the Who, the John Mayer Trio, Gary Numan, Paul Young, Don Henle ...

– bass * Chris Dave – drums , percussion *

Shawn Everett Shawn Everett (born July 6, 1982) is a Canadian music engineer and producer best known for his work with Alabama Shakes, Kacey Musgraves, The War on Drugs, The Killers, and Julian Casablancas. Everett has won six Grammy Awards. Early life Ev ...

– synthesizer * Joseph Lorge – congregation vocals * Clay Blair – congregation vocals * Becca Luce – congregation vocals * Chris Doerr – congregation vocals Production * Blake Mills – production * Shawn Everett – engineering, mixing * Joseph Lorge – engineering * Clay Blair – studio assistance * Omar Yakar – studio assistance * Brendan Dekora – studio assistance * Patricia Sullivan – mastering *

Inez and Vinoodh Inez van Lamsweerde (born 25 September 1963) and Vinoodh Matadin (born 29 September 1961) are a Dutch-American fashion photographer duo, whose work has been featured in fashion magazines and advertising campaigns. They also produce independent a ...

– artwork * Mike Zimmerman – design

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2017 albums Perfume Genius albums Matador Records albums Albums produced by Blake Mills Experimental pop albums