Christening The Shape

Perfume Genius “Just Like Love”

Sometimes it helps to know the backstory of a song. Here’s Mike Hadreas explaining the initial source of inspiration for “Just Like Love” in an interview with NPR:

“I saw this Facebook video of a boy, probably around seven, wearing a dress he had fashioned from a blanket, sashaying through his house while his mother applauded and cheered him on. He was so proud. It was such a beautiful thing, but bittersweet because I knew his spirit would change soon, that he’d become self-aware and ashamed, at some level. The song is about how divine he is, then and always — that he was born perfect.”

I didn’t need to know that to immediately click with the sound of this song, but knowing this has deepened my reaction to it quite a bit. The beautiful thing about this is how Hadreas seems to be willing himself into this boy’s effortless grace, trying to shed every hang-up and societal obstacle that’s kept him from being this pure in his adult life. And it’s not sad, or motivated by regret. The boy is a beacon, an inspiration. I think in channeling this beautiful moment into graceful, elegant music – for me, the most impressive composition of his career to date – Hadreas has become that as well.

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