PG (aka Mike Hadreas) has produced one of the finest albums this year so far in form of Learning. A fair comparison you could make is with that of Sufjan Stevens' more delicate moments. The songs typify great minimalist music; he fortunately manages to eschew the usual monotony of gentle album-filler tracks. Simple piano tunes and chords are layered over one another (but only one, two or three parts are used at one time). The lyrics are simplistic but very personal. In Mr Peterson he speaks about his Maths teacher who we find out encouraged Cannabis use in front of PG, lent him Joy Division tapes and later committed suicide. In others we hear of the pain and sadness of his romantic life. Its obvious how emotional the singer is getting at times; there has been no production to alter the vocals. This leaves us raw, yet intricate music. The music is simple, yet days and months have been put into the composition of the songs. But this is no wonder. His perfected, swooning vocals are, though slightly reminiscent of Sufjan, unique. Particularly in Gay Angels, the longest song.
For such a short album (28.6 minutes in length), I would have expected 10 snappy, upbeat punk songs about politics and teenagers. Instead we are presented with something very different. There are 10 beautiful songs on this album: all emotional in tone and soporific to the ear and mind, almost hypnotic. Although this is an album which may require a few listens, those few listens will be few compared to the number of times you will later have to listen to it, immersing yourself in its entirety. This is heartbreaking music that is oddly addictive.
