SET MY HEART ON FIRE IMMEDIATELY by Perfume Genius - Review

So, long story short, I discovered this artist right after listening to Chromatica. I have never heard or this artist nor known his discography before. It just suddenly played randomly on my Spotify. The first song that I heard from this album was “Jason” which storyline in the lyric is really captivating. So, I checked his project and here I am!

From the album title itself, I was kind of guessing that I would be having a melancholic trip, complex concept about love and life, and I would be crying. Just shove them all up to my arse!

The album opens with “Whole Life”. This track is a baroque-pop with rock influence song. As an opening for the album, It already hooked me into the world of this album. As he sings “half of my whole life is gone”, it is really haunting yet it is dreamy. It has cinematic and nostalgic sound, forced me to play supercut of memories on my mind. His voice and the song production truly remind me of Bobby Vinton and his songs. Then the next song “Describe”, it has 90s rock influence. The lyrics mainly tells about helping him describe the feeling he has. “Without You” also has 90s heaving alt rock vibe too. The lyric, I think it is about self-acceptance and letting go of self-doubt. “Jason” lyrically talking about one-night stand story. Interestingly, it is vividly detailed. The fragileness, the denial of this ‘Jason’ character, the vulnerability, it is described in such a beautiful way. The production of this song also reminds me of Radiohead song. “Leave” is a song that contained the album title, talks about dark fantasy in making art. The production of this song is viscerally haunting. It has this somber, moody sound accompanied with choirs.

“On the Floor” is an uplifting pop-rock song, which possibly talks about maddening obsession of a person. The lyric is pretty intense though, some might find it talking about abusive relationship as well. “Your Body Changes Everything” is a song about maintaining balance and dynamic role in a relationship. The production of this song is like a soundtrack of a fantasy film – and in fantasy films, most characters are fighting their way to maintain balance. Coincidence? I think not!

The next song is “Moonbend”. It has this haunting, witchy production. This track reminds me of some Bjork’s songs. “Just A Touch” is a more straightforward love song in the album. Again, the lyric is presented in such a beautiful way. “Nothing at All” is another alternative rock song in this album. The production kind of remind me of the previous track. The lyric talks about “I got everything you want” but in such negation and having freedom in not wanting everything. So zero fucks were given. “One More Try” is a song about hiding relationship which leads to a lethal consequence back then. It seems like it accompanies “Just A Touch” which has similarity in the concept – closeted lovers. “Some Dream” is a song about sacrifice in order to fulfill a dream, and the album closes with “Borrowed Light” in which come to a full circle but in very fatalistic way. The attachment of this song with the first song is really strong. The singer expresses his fear of what might happen if his whole life is truly gone. Even though it is terrifying, he knows he will find the peace within.

I was having an emotional yet complex trip for about an hour. The intro successfully made me cry. It is such a beautiful album. The way it produced with care, bringing nostalgic melody, vividly-described lyrics. It is just amazing. "Set My Heart on Fire Immediately" is both tremendous and pressed with detail. The tunes grow and contract, one moment shooting open with the ballad, the surgical details about ribs that crease like texture, a tear-streaked face, an occurrence of post-coital frivolous theft. He mourns the progression of time in a trembling existential creation, at that point presses us into a room to observe an awkward, tormented hookup. All alone, these correlative vantage focuses are intense; in show, they are excellent, filmic, and solid at the same time.