Mary Margaret O'Hara gained critical acclaim and a cult following with her 1988 album Miss America; last year, Perfume Genius' Mike Hadreas invited her to perform at the Dutch festival Le Guess Who? Hiroyuki Ito/Getty Images hide caption
Perfume Genius Perfume Genius artist page: interviews, features and/or performances archived at NPR Music
Hurray for the Riff Raff Sarrah Danziger/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
NPR Music's top five albums of the year. (Clockwise from upper left) Process by Sampha, DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar, Melodrama by Lorde, Crtl by SZA and Capacity by Big Thief. Courtesy of the artists hide caption
Perfume Genius performs at NPR's Tiny Desk on May 15, 2017. (Raquel Zaldivar/NPR) Raquel Zaldivar/NPR hide caption
Eight years into his relationship, Perfume Genius' Mike Hadreas says, "it still doesn't feel intuitive. It always feels sort of strange and almost mystical." Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Mike Hadreas writes and records as Perfume Genius. His latest album, out May 5, is No Shape. Burak Cingi/Redferns via Getty Images hide caption
Perfume Genius. Ashley Beliveau/Getty Images hide caption
Clockwise from upper left: Sufjan Stevens with James McCalister, Perfume Genius, Gorillaz, The Family Crest Courtesy of the artists hide caption
Perfume Genius' new album, No Shape, comes out May 5. Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Perfume Genius, 'Slip Away'
Perfume Genius performs live on KEXP. Morgen Schuler/KEXP hide caption
Perfume Genius' new album, Too Bright, comes out Sept. 23. Luke Gilford/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Too Bright
Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.
Clockwise from upper left: The Bots, Perfume Genius, Zammuto, The Rentals Courtesy of the artists hide caption
Perfume Genius performs live at Celebrate Brooklyn from the Prospect Park Bandshell on July 31. Ryan Muir for NPR hide caption
Perfume Genius In Concert
Clockwise from upper left: Vancouver Sleep Clinic, Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger, Sylvan Esso, High As A Kite, Perfume Genius Courtesy of the artists hide caption
Perfume Genius. Angel Ceballos/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Mike Hadreas, a.k.a. Perfume Genius. Angel Ceballos hide caption