• Record Label: Matador
  • Release Date: Feb 21, 2012
User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 60 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 54 out of 60
  2. Negative: 3 out of 60
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  1. Jan 31, 2021
    7
    this album sounds misleading. the title is gathered from what the singer says is ''describing gay sex'' yet it sounds so peaceful then the lyrics seep with darkness. from the first song we are introduced to mike's dull grey sad world. this album was my introduction to perfume genius. ''dark parts'' played on my YouTube shuffle and I was hooked yet distraught by the imagery . the albumthis album sounds misleading. the title is gathered from what the singer says is ''describing gay sex'' yet it sounds so peaceful then the lyrics seep with darkness. from the first song we are introduced to mike's dull grey sad world. this album was my introduction to perfume genius. ''dark parts'' played on my YouTube shuffle and I was hooked yet distraught by the imagery . the album feels like washing up on the shore after battling the ocean trying not to drown in a storm: exhausted but still alive. the cover art showing topless boys with a tearstain was very apt because those 13 songs were each stories of pain. the opener ''AWOL marine'' is about an ex marine who is unemployed and has a sick wife who he does porn for to be able to pay his bills. ''dark parts '' is about his mother who was raped for 12 years by his grandfather. the album is one that grows with repeated listens. Favorites :dark parts, all waters,17 &take me home Expand
  2. Apr 8, 2012
    8
    I thought that the demo-type music on Perfume Genius first album "Learning" had more of a personal touch & worked better with the content of his lyrics. I listen to that album, and the song "Look Out Look Out" has me looking out the window in a dismal way. With Put Your Back, I get less of that "emotionally touched" feeling, so, for me - maybe because now the music is more professional &I thought that the demo-type music on Perfume Genius first album "Learning" had more of a personal touch & worked better with the content of his lyrics. I listen to that album, and the song "Look Out Look Out" has me looking out the window in a dismal way. With Put Your Back, I get less of that "emotionally touched" feeling, so, for me - maybe because now the music is more professional & less "personal." I have both albums and think Put Your Back is another gem because in the end PG are working with some intense subject matter & great music. The work of PG reminds me of the first two albums by Antony & the Johnsons and I think that says it all, especially if your an Antony Hegarty fan. Expand
  3. Jan 7, 2015
    6
    This album is stylistically similar to Learning, but the production has changed and so has the songwriting. These tracks just don't have the same emotional power that the ones on Learning had. I think putting PG's voice at the front of the mix like it mostly is on this album reveals the weaknesses of it. The album has the same ideas and motives as Learning did, but it feels emptier and aThis album is stylistically similar to Learning, but the production has changed and so has the songwriting. These tracks just don't have the same emotional power that the ones on Learning had. I think putting PG's voice at the front of the mix like it mostly is on this album reveals the weaknesses of it. The album has the same ideas and motives as Learning did, but it feels emptier and a little lost. Collapse
  4. Feb 29, 2012
    10
    Last year's Kate Bush effort, 50 Words for Snow, was built like this one. Then, I was thinking that Kate is a species on extinct. Not really. Mike Hadreas is also able to provide a wonderful set of songs using mostly a piano and the voice. Using this paradigm would be deathly dangerous for the most of so called show-business stars, simply because they have NOTHING TO SAY ABOUT ANYTHING.Last year's Kate Bush effort, 50 Words for Snow, was built like this one. Then, I was thinking that Kate is a species on extinct. Not really. Mike Hadreas is also able to provide a wonderful set of songs using mostly a piano and the voice. Using this paradigm would be deathly dangerous for the most of so called show-business stars, simply because they have NOTHING TO SAY ABOUT ANYTHING. Both in case of Kate and now Mike, there is a message to listen to. Perfume Genius metaphorically has put his back into lyrics and what could have been a message for gay men became the one which is universal. Expand
  5. Jun 22, 2012
    8
    Despite all the solemnity associated with each of the songs' dark themes, which include suicide, drug addiction and domestic abuse, I think this album makes for a really enjoyable and often quite relatable listen. Songs such as "Hood" and "No Tear" are impeccably arranged, and the songs often get accentuated by powerful drums and brass which allows them to convey incredible warmth withDespite all the solemnity associated with each of the songs' dark themes, which include suicide, drug addiction and domestic abuse, I think this album makes for a really enjoyable and often quite relatable listen. Songs such as "Hood" and "No Tear" are impeccably arranged, and the songs often get accentuated by powerful drums and brass which allows them to convey incredible warmth with moving lyrics. Expand
  6. Jun 5, 2012
    8
    haunting, and makes good use of more age production techniques (such as voice distortion featured on no tear) to differentiate itself from more band and predictable singer/songwriter albums. Honestly it truly does something special and unique against a genre of self-important decadence.
  7. Feb 22, 2012
    9
    Fantastically simple or simply fantastic? I think the latter.

    Some songs I definitely like more than others, but I can still let this play through and at the end I still think it's too short and replay it. Besides the obvious improvement in recording quality and extra instruments. The guitars create intense flurries of feedback at the exact right moment, and the drums decorate Hadreas'
    Fantastically simple or simply fantastic? I think the latter.

    Some songs I definitely like more than others, but I can still let this play through and at the end I still think it's too short and replay it. Besides the obvious improvement in recording quality and extra instruments. The guitars create intense flurries of feedback at the exact right moment, and the drums decorate Hadreas' frail piano.

    Perfume Genius has matured but has kept their immediacy and honesty.
    Expand
  8. CBN
    Nov 30, 2012
    10
    My 2012 album of the year and it's not even close. The emotions this young man can evoke through these simple songs is unlike anything I've ever experienced. Powerful is not even the right word for it. Otherworldly. I burned this lp and have given it out to more people then I can remember. Everyone should to listen to this album. They have to, they need to.
  9. Apr 11, 2021
    7
    If pain had a sound track songs from this album would surely find their place on it. It's beautiful in it's relative simplicity each song details another person's story. Sonically it's beautiful and ambient, piano heavy songs with accents from strings. While, not my favorite album ever I can't deny the emotional landscape (haha Björk reference) Perfume Genius forms. I found the album toIf pain had a sound track songs from this album would surely find their place on it. It's beautiful in it's relative simplicity each song details another person's story. Sonically it's beautiful and ambient, piano heavy songs with accents from strings. While, not my favorite album ever I can't deny the emotional landscape (haha Björk reference) Perfume Genius forms. I found the album to have a few fluff songs that didn't disrupt the narrative, more so, they were just generally uninteresting. However, the highs of this album were devastating: AWOL Marine, All Waters, Take Me Home, Hood, and Floating Spit. It was emotional and evocative and a solid album. Expand
Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 28 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 28
  2. Negative: 0 out of 28
  1. Magnet
    Mar 20, 2012
    70
    Album number two pulls back from that musical and writerly intimacy [found on the debut] - if only slightly - trading a degree of specificity for a degree of universality, and adding just the faintest touch of gloss. [No. 85, p.57]
  2. Mar 7, 2012
    80
    Put Your Back N 2 It is a deeply affecting album, but also a plainspoken one.
  3. Mar 5, 2012
    80
    For all its seriousness, it's the absence of big moments and Hadreas' refusal to give in to easy outs that make what he does so compelling.