Over a career which spans just under two decades, former Czars frontman John Grant as delivered some truly terrific music, inspired by tempestuous times that were fuelled by drink, drugs, disastrous relationships and battles with homophobia – not to mention a HIV diagnosis.
His third solo album Grey Tickles, Black Pressure, however, sees the golden voiced singer now settled in Iceland, sober and apparently loved up – and, as a result, much of the material is more playful than pugilistic as he deals with getting older (the album’s title is a rough translation of two phrases from Icelandic and Turkish respectively meaning “middle age” and “nightmare”).
A record which is funny, frightening, heart breaking and melting all at the same time, Grant’s third opus is full of obtuse funk numbers (‘Voodoo Doll’) and string swept shuffles with lyrics about haemorrhoids and cancer (‘Grey Tickles, Black Pressure’), all tied together by that honeyed croon of his.
Featuring appearances from Amanda Palmer, former Banshees drummer Budgie and Everything But The Girl’s Tracey Thorn, the likes of the salacious, funk-fest ‘Snug Slacks’ helps make this the singer’s most buoyant offering to date. There are still plenty of bleak words to balance the beautiful soundscapes – and overall it’s a weird and rewarding rumination on middle-age.