Put Your Back N 2 It - Perfume Genius
User Score
8.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 27 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 27
  3. Negative: 2 out of 27

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  1. 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.
  2. cloudxchamber
    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 with moving lyrics.… Expand
  3. Vades
    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.
  4. jyo_tirmaya
    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 & 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
  5. Lodz
    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. 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.… Collapse
  6. pascoupe
    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' fr    ail piano.

    Perfume Genius has matured but has kept their immediacy and honesty.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
81 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 28 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 28
  3. 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. Prefix Magazine
    Mar 7, 2012
    80
    Put Your Back N 2 It is a deeply affecting album, but also a plainspoken one.
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  3. cokemachineglow
    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.
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