There are few things in this life that pair as perfectly as angst and adolescence. It’s hard to capture the broad spectrum of sadness that comes with being a teenager entering young adulthood, which might be why the ​“coming of age” narrative has been a draw for directors since the dawn of culture. There’s always a new source of sadness to tap into.

There’s a subtle art to crafting the ​“coming of age” narrative in films and television, and one of the quintessential pieces to driving home angst isn’t in the scenes of awkward first kisses or vomiting at the cool kids’ house party. It’s in the music – and there’s no better vocalist to capture the soul-searing pillow scream of teenage existence than Perfume Genius. That’s not just me saying that as a stan of musician Mike Hadreas’ perpetually somber sound either. Sure, I’ve spent my fair share of time crying in bed while mouthing the words to My Body and even stood outside after his 2017 Brooklyn Steel concert for two hours to let him know how incredible his show was while blasted on an edible, but there are also undeniable facts to back up his claim to the throne of teenage emotion.

Since quietly entering the music scene with his 2010 debut, Learning, his songs have appeared in an excess of soundtracks for television shows and films that tap into adolescent angst. For teens dealing with their shit, Perfume Genius’ music is the Ghost of Traumas Past. Last year, guess what track punched everyone in the gut during Bo Burnham’s paean to adolescent awkwardness, Eighth Grade? Slip Away. And guess what track again returned this year in Olivia Wilde’s Booksmart for the most crushing pool scene since Shailene Woodley screamed underwater in The Descendants? Surprise bitch, it was Slip Away.

It’s not all that shocking, perhaps, since the lyrics ​“Don’t hold back, I want to break free ​’cause it’s singing through your body /​and I’m carried by the sound” are 100 percent something I would’ve written in the margins of my college ruled composition notebook about one of the straights I wanted to see naked in gym class. As Twitter user @fitsofpleasure correctly stated: ​“Every indie coming of age movie is required to have slip away by perfume genius on the soundtrack or else sundance will literally not let you put it out.”