Critics give Set My Heart on Fire Immediately a B-Side Breakdown of 89 (B+), from 9 reviews at outlets we track. Scores run 80 to 100.
The verdict on Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
9 of 9 critics liked it, and they mostly agree.
- Highest 100 The Independent, The Telegraph and The Guardian
- Lowest 80 Rolling Stone, Q, Mojo and NME
- By the numbers The best-reviewed album of Perfume Genius's career on B-Side Breakdowns, ahead of Glory (89). The third best-reviewed album of 2020 we've tracked.
| The gist | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Independent via Wikipediaby Roisin O'Connor | 5/5 | 100 | 2020 | “On his fifth album, Perfume Genius turns away from ‘big US rock’ to create something altogether more intimate, pop veterans Sparks return with a record as multi-faceted as it is…” |
| The Telegraph via Wikipediaby Neil McCormick | 5/5 | 100 | 2020 | |
| The Guardian via Wikipediaby Alexis Petridis | 5/5 | 100 | 2020 | “Backed by starry session musicians, Mike Hadreas makes wild but confident leaps between styles on this rich, fascinating LP” |
| Pitchfork via Wikipediaby Madison Bloom | 9.0/10 | 90 | 2020 | “Mike Hadreas’ fifth album glides between sublime melodies and grimy, guttural dissonance, embracing the joys and burdens of the human body and its innumerable, intangible yearnings.” |
| AllMusic via Wikipediaby Heather Phares | 4.5/5 | 90 | ||
| Rolling Stone via Wikipediaby Jon Dolan | 4/5 | 80 | 2020 | “Perfume Genius maps his desires on 'Set My Heart on Fire Immediately' album.” |
| Q via Wikipediaby Rachel Aroesti | 4/5 | 80 | 2020 | |
| Mojo via Wikipediaby Victoria Segal | 4/5 | 80 | 2020 | |
| NME via Wikipediaby Luke Morgan Britton | 4/5 | 80 | 2020 | “Mike Hadreas takes inspiration from classic pop, drawing on Cyndi Lauper and Elvis, but deconstructs the sounds in his own understated way” |
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Set My Heart on Fire Immediately in Perfume Genius's catalog
How these critics usually treat Perfume Genius
- AllMusic About usual for them1 point above the other critics here. Usually 1 point below on Perfume Genius's other albums (3).
- Pitchfork About usual for them1 point above the other critics here. Usually level with the others on Perfume Genius's other albums (3).
More from Perfume Genius
More Indie & Alternative from around 2020
Would you spin it again?
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How the Breakdown works
Every outlet’s score is converted to 0–100 (2/5 is 40, 5.9/10 is 59, a B+ is 88) and averaged. Grades follow the B-Side scale: A is 90–100, B 80–89, C 70–79, D 60–69, F below 60. Approval is the share of critics who scored it 75 or higher; the Breakdown shows green at 75 and up, red below. Divisiveness asks a different question: not how many critics liked it, but how close their scores are to each other. Five critics who all give it 50 are Unanimous, even though none of them liked it. The labels run Unanimous, Broad agreement, Some debate, Divided, and Contentious. Replay rate comes from listeners, not critics: yes counts fully, a few tracks counts half, no counts zero. The gist quotes each outlet’s own summary of its review. Published is the date on the review itself, read from the outlet’s page, so you can see whether an album’s reputation came at release or years later. Scores marked est. come from reviews that publish no number. Scores marked via Wikipedia are archive ratings, mostly for older albums, taken from the “Professional ratings” box on the album’s Wikipedia page (published openly through Wikidata); each links to the original review when we can find it online, and to that Wikipedia entry when we can’t. When an outlet reviewed an album twice, years apart (often for a reissue), both scores count, each labeled with its year.
A-Side marks the critics’ top tier. An album earns it automatically, from its numbers alone: a Breakdown of 90 or higher, from at least 5 reviews, with at least 75% approval. Nobody hands it out and nobody can buy it; if new reviews pull an album below the line, it loses the badge.







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