In the gruesome album trailer for John Grant’s latest album, Grey Tickles, Black Pressure, the 47-year-old grins maniacally, face caked in blood, mallet in hand, then gazes ominously into space. The images give a taste of the savage and satirical tone of his latest album; but, as with all Grant’s creations, great beauty comes with the brutality and morbidity.
The album is also full of Grant’s deeply personal narrative and dark humour: “grey tickles” is a literal translation of the Icelandic for midlife crisis; “black pressure” translates the Turkish for nightmare. Inspired by a love affair with his adopted home, Iceland, and its native tongue, in which he speaks on much of the album, the singer has found a retreat in the country’s otherworldly landscape. “I was in fight-or-flight response my whole life, with adrenaline fatigue, PTSD – there was no safety ever,” he says. “I feel safe here. It’s a cautious optimism connected to that feeling of security.”
The album was recorded in Dallas with producer John Congleton (St Vincent, Franz Ferdinand), and it sees Grant applying his haunted croon to theatrical ballads, warped disco and skewed electro pop. On Disappointing, Grant enlists the spectral vocals of Tracey Thorn.
The album is out on 9 October, but you can stream it now on the player below. Let us know what you think. For copyright reasons, this stream is unavailable in the US and Canada.
