Artist: John Grant
Title: Queen Of Denmark
Label: Bella Union
Genre: Indie
Bitrate: 188kbit av.
Time: 00:51:10
Size: 72.53 mb
Rip Date: 2010-04-11
Str Date: 2010-04-19
01. TC And Honeybear 5:06
02. I Wanna Go To Marz 3:58
03. Where Dreams Go To Die 6:04
04. Sigourney Weaver 3:31
05. Chicken Bones 3:38
06. Silver Platter Club 4:10
07. It's Easier 4:38
08. Outer Space 3:14
09. JC Hates Faggots 3:47
10. Caramel 3:35
11. Leopard And Lamb 4:41
12. Queen Of Denmark 4:48
Release Notes:
JOHN GRANT, former singer / songwriter with The Czars, finally returns
with extraordinary debut solo album made with MIDLAKEà
Everyone has a favorite band or singer they reckon is subject to
criminal neglect. That John GrantÆs effortlessly rich, expansive
baritone, couched in typically heartbreaking, lush melody, hasnÆt found
a wider audience indeed drives his fans to consider a crime. But no
longer. Because GrantÆs first solo album, following three undervalued
studio albums (and one similar covers compilation) fronting The Czars,
is so undeniably great that the world will surely listen.
ItÆs a record of gravitas and grace, of FM melody magic laced with raw
emotional bleeding. It asks why relationships are roulette and love is
hell in a last-ditch attempt at self-improvement and atonement after a
decade of alcohol and cocaine dependency. ItÆs not overstating the case
to say û as John has himself in a recent issue of MOJO - that heÆs
contemplated suicide. And yet there is redemption in its exquisite
grooves.
And on top, to further the albumÆs brilliance, GrantÆs backing band on
the album are Denton, TexasÆ mightiest û MIDLAKE - contributing their
most empathic æ70s-style soft-rock know-how. Put simply, Queen Of
Denmark is the record GrantÆs been waiting his whole life to make.
Not that the Czars didnÆt hit their own heights. After emerging from
mile-high Denver, Colorado, rave reviews were the norm, especially from
the UK. ôLong distinguished by John GrantÆs superlative baritoneà
æGoodbyeÆ reeks of wistful, melancholic classà as meticulous and
complete-sounding as the best works by Mercury Rev or The Flaming Lipsö
said Uncut about The CzarsÆ final album.
After The Czars, he says, ôI basically gave up.ö On music that is.
Instead, Grant moved to New York, studied for his certificate in
Russian medical interpreting (heÆs a gifted linguist, speaking German
and Spanish as well as Russian) while waiting tables - and rarely
performing live, though supports to Midlake were among them. And that
was how he began to contemplate another record.
ôWe first heard The Czars on our first trip to London,ö recalls Midlake
bassist Paul Alexander. ôHis voice was the first thing I noticed - John
has such this incredible baritone. But we didnÆt go crazy over him
until we saw him live, and we then got him to support us on the Van
Occupanther tour in the US. At the end, we said he had to come to
Denton and make an album.ö
These were songs that tapped the residue of growing up gay in a
religious household in a suffocating small town near Kalamazoo in
Michigan. Of meeting men and losing men, of coping with intimacy by
numbing the senses. This non-coping mechanism was in place even by his
teens. Already alienated by his circumstances, the Grant familyÆs shift
to Denver, Colorado - all fresh air, mountains and social superiority û
when he was 11 doubled the load. But help was at hand. Grant had
imbibed his elder brothers and parentsÆ classic æ70s records (ôKiss,
Nazareth, Led Zep, Floyd, Judas Priestö) and learning classical piano,
but AbbaÆs Greatest Hits (check The CzarsÆ ultra-forlorn version of
æAngel EyesÆ on the covers album) was his eureka! moment. ôWhen I first
heard æSOSÆ," he grins, ôI just about came unglued for joy.ö
Supertramp's Breakfast in America and The Carpenters' Horizon were also
joys, and later came New Wave, from Visage to Skinny Puppy, which
kickstarted his massive love for electronica.
Yet it was Patsy ClineÆs influence, and JohnÆs own effortlessly
controlled delivery, that shaped The Czars. ôI was unafraid to love
country, even at high school. For years, I did nothing but sing along
to her songs.ö
But for a new album signaling a new start, Grant needed change, namely
a more æ70s-centric sound û the double-tracked vocals, the chorus
effects, the shifting arrangements and instrumentation. ôPeople havenÆt
been able to stop going on about the æ70s so I thought I should dabble
deeper myself and see why. But really what IÆve done is return to my
roots.ö
Queen Of Denmark was recorded in Denton in two four-month stints û
July-October 2008 and May-July 2009 - in the studio downtime while
Midlake were painstakingly recording their own album (The Courage Of
Others). Every Midlake member chipped in but Paul Alexander and
guitarist Eric Pulido, who co-produced the album with John, are on
every track alongside drummer McKenzie Smith. John reserves special
mention for PaulÆs basslines. ôThey were outrageous, off the fuckinÆ
hook. Some evenings, we couldnÆt stop smiling and laughing because I
was so excited about his work.ö The whole Denton experience, he adds,
ôwas really uplifting. It was emotional and painful too but Midlake
believed in me and told me, æpeople need to hear you, and weÆre going
to make it happen.ö
With such support, Grant wasnÆt going for any half-measures. ôFor me,
there isnÆt a word of filler on the album. IÆve made a very clear
statement about where IÆm at and who I am as a person, and thatÆs one
reason IÆm so proud of it, that I was able to articulate it. At least
IÆm being given a chance to embrace the pain instead of being afraid to
move through it.ö
Queen Of Denmark moves through simple piano settings (the lovestruck
ballad æCaramelÆ and the intriguing Scott Joplin-meets-Beatles ragtime
of æSilver PlatterÆ), via an infusion of period-perfect synths (the
rockier æSigourneyÆ, a sultry æItÆs EasierÆ) that epitomise the lonely
mood. ThereÆs flute from Midlake frontman Tim Smith on the dreamiest
cut (and there is stiff competition) æMarzÆ, and velvet strings
(æDreamsÆ, which imagines Scott Walker influenced by Patsy Cline, and
the darker drama æLeopardÆ). There are allusions to higher beings
(æOuter SpaceÆ) and to human weaknesses (æJCÆ). There is pure longing
regret in the opening æTC And HoneybearÆ and bitterly sarcastic,
amped-up anger in the magnificent title track finale. Pain, hope, fear,
regret, anger, self-flagellation and self-discovery - Queen of Denmark
has it all.
sire@hush.ai