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GRANT, JOHN - LOVE IS MAGIC
ARTIST:
TITLE:
Love Is Magic
LABEL:
CATNO:
BELLA825VX
FORMAT:
Vinyl record
DESCRIPTION:
2x12" Synth Pop / Electronic Leftfield LP - Deluxe Version - This deluxe version is 140g clear vinyl. Includes 16 page 'Hymn Booklet' containing lyrics along with a 24 page photo booklet which includes photos taken by John Grant.
It's been a hell of a recent past for John Grant, aside from getting the unquestionable delight of getting to see our faces every time he comes to Manchester (and us, his), has produced a superb album with Stephen Mallinder of Cab Voltaire and Wrangler fame under their collaborative moniker, 'Creep Show', and has a couple shows already booked in for later this year and early 2019. We get to his latest, oft-teased and even more of-anticipated new LP, 'Love Is Magic'.
We kick things off with the stabbing warped saw-waves of 'Metamorphosis' and Grant's unmistakeable vocal acrobatics, this time as sultry and off-piste melodic turns and new-beat percussives churn away in the background, setting a brilliantly warped precident before what may well be Grant's finest work to date in the stunning titular piece, 'Love Is Magic'. Treading familiar minor-key ground, we get a solemn but hopeful progression played out by stabbing synth lines and huge gated snare hits, covering all the sonic space necessary while keeping the mess down to a minimum and allowing John's voice to really shine before launching into the mindblowingly beautiful chorus (the vocal harmonies, attributed to Paul Denton of Midlake have an ethereal and dynamic momentum that is unmistakeable) and staggered but determined forward-thrust.
I could keep running through the tracks, but some of our readership would doubtless give up or expire before i'd finished blathering on, so i'll keep it to a few key points. 'Smug Cunt' while clearly filled with the wry venom we've come to know and love from Grant is an unimaginably deep cascade of dytopian synth pulses and resonant bass, launching into a spine-tinglingly effective culmination of gloom and euphoria. 'He's Got His Mothers Hips' brings the camp disco vibes spectacularly, with a truncated snappy analogue bassline swirling around beneath the syncopated vox before exploding into a major key serotonin release in the hand-waving chorus.
Move on a little and the spoken-word commentary of 'Diet Gum' takes an admittedly hilarious step into the leftfield, perfectly illustrating JG's clever tongue-in-cheek sense of humour 'Did you really think you could seduce me in a leisure suit?... well.... fair enough' and captivating presence before bringing it back to the sublime with the tear-inducing majesty of 'Is He Strange'. Stunning piano and vocal harmonies meet together into the perfect storm of majesty and misery. The closing duo of 'The Common Snipe' and 'Touch And Go' are once again perfectly matched, with the minimalistic backline and flickering sample and hold synth lines peaking lightly behind the former, and the anthemic, rolling stagger of the latter closing off a stunning and career-defining collection. It's a testament to Grant's sphere of influence and ability as a songwriter and producer that so many influences can be absorbed into his sound without sounding forced or disjinted. A brilliantly melodic, heart-warmingly anomalous wonder.
It's been a hell of a recent past for John Grant, aside from getting the unquestionable delight of getting to see our faces every time he comes to Manchester (and us, his), has produced a superb album with Stephen Mallinder of Cab Voltaire and Wrangler fame under their collaborative moniker, 'Creep Show', and has a couple shows already booked in for later this year and early 2019. We get to his latest, oft-teased and even more of-anticipated new LP, 'Love Is Magic'.
We kick things off with the stabbing warped saw-waves of 'Metamorphosis' and Grant's unmistakeable vocal acrobatics, this time as sultry and off-piste melodic turns and new-beat percussives churn away in the background, setting a brilliantly warped precident before what may well be Grant's finest work to date in the stunning titular piece, 'Love Is Magic'. Treading familiar minor-key ground, we get a solemn but hopeful progression played out by stabbing synth lines and huge gated snare hits, covering all the sonic space necessary while keeping the mess down to a minimum and allowing John's voice to really shine before launching into the mindblowingly beautiful chorus (the vocal harmonies, attributed to Paul Denton of Midlake have an ethereal and dynamic momentum that is unmistakeable) and staggered but determined forward-thrust.
I could keep running through the tracks, but some of our readership would doubtless give up or expire before i'd finished blathering on, so i'll keep it to a few key points. 'Smug Cunt' while clearly filled with the wry venom we've come to know and love from Grant is an unimaginably deep cascade of dytopian synth pulses and resonant bass, launching into a spine-tinglingly effective culmination of gloom and euphoria. 'He's Got His Mothers Hips' brings the camp disco vibes spectacularly, with a truncated snappy analogue bassline swirling around beneath the syncopated vox before exploding into a major key serotonin release in the hand-waving chorus.
Move on a little and the spoken-word commentary of 'Diet Gum' takes an admittedly hilarious step into the leftfield, perfectly illustrating JG's clever tongue-in-cheek sense of humour 'Did you really think you could seduce me in a leisure suit?... well.... fair enough' and captivating presence before bringing it back to the sublime with the tear-inducing majesty of 'Is He Strange'. Stunning piano and vocal harmonies meet together into the perfect storm of majesty and misery. The closing duo of 'The Common Snipe' and 'Touch And Go' are once again perfectly matched, with the minimalistic backline and flickering sample and hold synth lines peaking lightly behind the former, and the anthemic, rolling stagger of the latter closing off a stunning and career-defining collection. It's a testament to Grant's sphere of influence and ability as a songwriter and producer that so many influences can be absorbed into his sound without sounding forced or disjinted. A brilliantly melodic, heart-warmingly anomalous wonder.
PRICE:
£17.49
RELEASED YEAR:
SLEEVE:
Mint (M)
MEDIA:
Mint (M)
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Last FM Information on John Grant
Please note the information is done on a artist keyword match and data is provided by LastFM.
John Grant is an American singer/songwriter from Denver, Colorado and former lead vocalist with Bella Union cult favorites The Czars.
He returned in April 2010 with a critically acclaimed debut solo album recorded with Midlake. 'Queen of Denmark' was Mojo magazine's Album of the Year for 2010; it was also named as one of the best ten albums of 2010 by the Guardian's music critics and writers.
'Pale Green Ghosts', his second solo effort, was released on 11th March 2013 and it features Sinéad O'Connor as guest vocalist. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.