Album: Queen Of Denmark
Artist: John Grant
Born: Parker, Colorado
Released: April 2010
Genre: Indie Folk
Several groups I like haven't appeared on this blog, simply because it's a list of my favourite albums, not artists. Midlake are among the excluded. Their 2006 LP, Trials Of Van Occupanther, came close but brilliantly original singles like Roscoe don't necessarily make a great album. In fact, by far Midlake's best "album" is the one they recorded with John Grant in 2008-09, released in spring 2010 as Queen Of Denmark. Apparently, when Midlake first encountered John Grant's music (at a Czars concert), he was disillusioned and close to giving up on recording altogether. Midlake persuaded Grant to join them on tour and also to put together his first solo album at their studio in Denton, Texas. The production pays homage to 70s electric folk and soft rock, and this is one reason why retro-obsessed music magazine Mojo named it as their 2010 album of the year. As well as the sound of Tim Smith's Jethro Tull-inspired flute playing, there are also echoes of Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blues in the record's vast panoramas and Todd Rundgren's Something/Anything? in its synth wizardry. There are also more modern reference points, such as the sad and elegant songs and irresistible melodies of Antony Hegarty, who also reflects on the gay experience.
One of my favourite elements in John Grant's music is his baritone voice, which delivers some brilliantly witty and incisive lyrics. Among the dominant themes in his literate songs is alienation, especially when he reflects on being a young gay man who had a religious upbringing in Michigan and Colorado. There are darker moments when he looks back at failed relationships and the pitfalls of drug abuse, but there's also a strong sense of longing to move on. Where Dreams Go To Die is one of the standout songs on the LP, a bittersweet lament dedicated to an ex-lover ("I regret the day your lovely carcass caught my eye"). The same atmosphere permeates opener TC and Honeybear, Caramel and the title track, which Grant has performed live with Sinead O'Connor. Although self-pity rarely enters the equation in Grant's songs, he can come across as a little bilious and cynical at time, notably on Jesus Hates Faggots. For the most part, though, the mood is reflective and dreamy, such as on single, I Wanna Go to Marz, which pays tribute to the 70s soft rock of The Carpenters, as Grant mixes in sci-fi metaphors and the names of sweets ("Bittersweet strawberry, marshmallow butterscotch") from his childhood. Musically, Grant's follow-up album, Pale Green Ghosts (2013), is very different to Queen Of Denmark (but brilliant in its own way), while the songwriting is just as passionate and unflinching.
Several groups I like haven't appeared on this blog, simply because it's a list of my favourite albums, not artists. Midlake are among the excluded. Their 2006 LP, Trials Of Van Occupanther, came close but brilliantly original singles like Roscoe don't necessarily make a great album. In fact, by far Midlake's best "album" is the one they recorded with John Grant in 2008-09, released in spring 2010 as Queen Of Denmark. Apparently, when Midlake first encountered John Grant's music (at a Czars concert), he was disillusioned and close to giving up on recording altogether. Midlake persuaded Grant to join them on tour and also to put together his first solo album at their studio in Denton, Texas. The production pays homage to 70s electric folk and soft rock, and this is one reason why retro-obsessed music magazine Mojo named it as their 2010 album of the year. As well as the sound of Tim Smith's Jethro Tull-inspired flute playing, there are also echoes of Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blues in the record's vast panoramas and Todd Rundgren's Something/Anything? in its synth wizardry. There are also more modern reference points, such as the sad and elegant songs and irresistible melodies of Antony Hegarty, who also reflects on the gay experience.
One of my favourite elements in John Grant's music is his baritone voice, which delivers some brilliantly witty and incisive lyrics. Among the dominant themes in his literate songs is alienation, especially when he reflects on being a young gay man who had a religious upbringing in Michigan and Colorado. There are darker moments when he looks back at failed relationships and the pitfalls of drug abuse, but there's also a strong sense of longing to move on. Where Dreams Go To Die is one of the standout songs on the LP, a bittersweet lament dedicated to an ex-lover ("I regret the day your lovely carcass caught my eye"). The same atmosphere permeates opener TC and Honeybear, Caramel and the title track, which Grant has performed live with Sinead O'Connor. Although self-pity rarely enters the equation in Grant's songs, he can come across as a little bilious and cynical at time, notably on Jesus Hates Faggots. For the most part, though, the mood is reflective and dreamy, such as on single, I Wanna Go to Marz, which pays tribute to the 70s soft rock of The Carpenters, as Grant mixes in sci-fi metaphors and the names of sweets ("Bittersweet strawberry, marshmallow butterscotch") from his childhood. Musically, Grant's follow-up album, Pale Green Ghosts (2013), is very different to Queen Of Denmark (but brilliant in its own way), while the songwriting is just as passionate and unflinching.
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