Album of the Week: John Grant

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Album of the Week: John Grant

Love Is Magic Out Now via Partisan and Bella Union

Oct 12, 2018 By Christopher Roberts St. Vincent

John Grant released a new album, Love Is Magic, today via Partisan in the U.S. (and Bella Union elsewhere) and it’s our Album of the Week. It was a strong week for new albums and the new albums by Kurt Vile and Jaakko Eino Kalevi could’ve just as easily taken the crown and there are eight runner-ups this week in total. But Grant’s sharp, witty, and often-bitter lyrics helped him win the day.

Love Is Magic is the follow-up to 2015’s Grey Tickles, Black Pressure. Grant produced the album with analogue synth expert/collector Benge and Paul Alexander of Texas band Midlake. It was mainly recorded at Benge’s MemeTune Studios in Cornwall, England.

A previous press release said the album “is a turbulent, riveting, often brutal collection that overlaps pitch black humor, fear, anxiety, and anger” and that “the instrumentation consists almost entirely of synthesizers and programming.”

Grant had this to say about the album in the previous press release: “The lyrics aren’t just the doom and gloom of the past. They’re a snapshot of everyday life - the ridiculousness, the pain, the deep longing…. Each record I make is more of an amalgamation of who I am. The more I do this, the more I trust myself, and the closer I get to making what I imagine in my head.”

Grant also had this to say about the album’s title: “Love’s a shitshow that requires work. It’s not all lollipops and rainbows and ‘67 Dodge Dart Hemis and STD’s and macaroni and cheese and John Carpenter. But nothing can distract from the fact that, in spite of it all, love is still magic.”

Previously Grant shared Love Is Magic‘s six-and-a-half-minute long title track, “Love Is Magic,” via a lyric video (it was one of our Songs of the Week), which was followed by a full-on video for “Love Is Magic” featuring lots of dogs. Then he shared two more songs from the album: the shiny and upbeat “He’s Got His Mother’s Hips” and the ballad “Touch & Go,” a tribute to Chelsea Manning. Both songs made our Songs of the Week list. We also recently premiered a song by Ethan Gold, “Sway Lake (Lost Record Version),” that featured the guest vocals of Grant and was an honorable mention on our Songs of the Week list. Then he shared a wild video for “He’s Got His Mother’s Hips” that featured the work of 13 different animators. Then he shared another song from the album, “Is He Strange” (which was also one of our Songs of the Week). He also performed “He’s Got His Mother’s Hips” on the BBC music show Later… with Jools Holland.

Be sure to read our in-depth 2013 article on Grant, one of the most honest and personal interviews we’ve ever done.

Also read our 2015 interview with John Grant on Grey Tickles, Black Pressure.

John Grant Tour Dates:

10/26 - Reykjavik, IS - Silfurberg
10/29 - Brighton, UK - Brighton Dome
10/30 - London, UK - O2 Academy Brixton
10/31 - Bath, UK - The Forum
11/02 - Sheffield, UK - Octagon Centre
11/03 - Manchester, UK - Albert Hall, Manchester **SOLD OUT**
11/07 - Copenhagen, DK - Vega
11/08 - Oslo, NO - Sentrum Scene
11/10 - Wangels, DE - Rolling Stone Weekender
11/12 - Koln, DE - Kulturkirche
11/13 - Hamburg, DE - Kampnagel
11/14 - Berlin, DE - Astra Kulturhaus
11/16 - Rust, DE - Rolling Stone Park
11/30 - Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw
12/02 - Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall
12/03 - Montreal, QC - Fairmont Theatre
12/05 - Detroit, MI - El Club
12/06 - Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon
12/08 - Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line
12/09 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
12/11 - Denver, CO - Bluebird
12/12 - Salt Lake City, UT - State Room
12/14 - Los Angeles, CA - Lodge Room
12/15 - Santa Cruz, CA - The Catalyst - Atrium
12/16 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
12/18 - Seattle, WA - Columbia City Theatre
12/19 - Portland, OR - Star Theater
12/20 - Vancouver, BC - Imperial Vancouver