John Grant: Grey Tickles, Black Pressure

His new album opens and closes with recitations of a bible verse, and the title is a literal translation of the words for ‘mid-life crisis’ in Icelandic (Grey Tickles) and ‘nightmare’ in Turkish (Black Pressure). What he has lost, in part, is his unique approach.

The electronic flourishes hinted on his last album have now run rampant. The stretch of ‘Snug Slacks’, ‘Guess How I Know’ and ‘You & Him’ irreparably hurts the album, and sees the previously chamber-pop artist working in electroclash, sounding closer to a collection of Peaches out-takes. In this vein, his trademark confrontational/confessional lyrics are telegraphed in, reducing their dramatic effect, and no amount of electronic squelches and in-joke referencing can disguise the irritation. Thankfully, Grant corrects his course. ‘Down Here’, ‘No More Tangles’ and the title track stick to what he’s done well in the past. ‘Disappointing’ and ’Black Blizzard’ are what his new style should have been more focused on, because the electronic diversions are used to paint the detail into the track, rather than being the main draw.

Closer ‘Geraldine’ is the album’s masterpiece, a majestic song that showcases all of Grant’s strengths – something he has trouble achieving elsewhere.