Music reviews: Perfume Genius, Momma, Elton John & Brandi Carlile
'Glory' by Perfume Genius
Perfume Genius' new album is "so stylistically ambitious that it should immediately be considered his greatest invention," said David Feigelson in Paste. In the music Mike Hadreas has made under that name since 2008, "there is always a longing." But the current version of Hadreas seems more grounded, and the musicians he's surrounded himself with "contribute immeasurably to the depth in texture of the record" as Glory moves from the R.E.M.-like guitars of "It's a Mirror" to an "ephemeral" midsection and into the minimalist abstractions beyond. "There is no moment that breaks Glory's spell, only those that allow you to sink deeper into its labyrinth." Though these 11 songs "rarely contain straightforward narratives," said Marissa Lorusso in Pitchfork, Hadreas' breathy, wavering voice "pulls you into their emotional core." Some are "sketches of love and loss." Others evoke "the sensation of being trapped inside one's own mind and wanting desperately to re-engage more generously with the world." Throughout, the album remains "rich with beauty," a beauty twisted "just enough to let in flashes of the strange."
'Welcome to My Blue Sky' by Momma
"Welcome to My Blue Sky is an object lesson in how a band can expand their horizons without losing the bite that made them so compelling in the first place," said Andy Von Pip in Under the Radar. Brooklyn-based Momma broke through with 2022's Household Name, but instead of playing it safe and churning out more' 90s-indebted indie rock, co-founders Etta Friedman and Allegra Weingarten "have pushed their sound outward while digging deeper inward." The 12-song set, which plays like a shared diary of the pair's 2022 summer road tour, mixes power pop with shoegaze and other kin. And the vulnerability Friedman and Weingarten display for the first time "adds weight to the crashing guitars, making the album's emotional peaks hit even harder." It's a record "brimming with tiny moments of self-discovery," said Abby Jones in Stereogum. "Stuttered synths" put a charge in the single "I Want You (Fever)" and "I hear a Sheryl Crow twang on the chilled-out title track." Through it all, the co-leaders' friendship shines through, because as messy as their lives may be, messing up "sure is a lot less scary alongside someone who understands you."
'Who Believes in Angels?' by Elton John & Brandi Carlile
With his latest collaborative album, Elton John has delivered "a heartwarming burst of rejuvenation and reflection," said Jon Dolan in Rolling Stone. The 78-year-old pop legend has developed a close friendship with 43-year-old country maverick Brandi Carlile in recent years, and on this 10-song collaboration, they've created a sound that "hearkens to classic Elton" and combined it with lyrics that "add a reflective element." The words are the work of Carlile and Bernie Taupin, while the two headliners trade vocal duties throughout and Elton adds "killer boogie-woogie piano" to the soulful stomp "Little Richard's Bible." Often, Carlile's warm persona and Elton's exuberant energy "mesh perfectly," said Tim Sendra in AllMusic. Still, "too much of the record veers into musical theater territory," as the pair "give in to the pull of grandeur" on the title track and a couple of other mild misfires. The weaker tunes "don't ruin the album, though." Songs such as "Swing for the Fences" and "The River Man," which find the stars keeping things loose and lively, "show off what a good team they can be."