My good friend Ned told me multiple times that I was going to lose my mind over Pale Green Ghosts by John Grant but, for whatever reason, I remained skeptical. I didn't feel that I was really in the headspace to pay attention to or enjoy a singer/songwriter type when the album started making the rounds and really wasn't motivated to check out the album despite multiple exhortations. I finally got around to listening to it sometime after it appeared on Spotify, which I believe was several months after it had been released.
There are multiple ways in which this is an astonishing piece of work. First off, it's produced by Biggi Viera of GusGus, who worked with Grant to create a soundscape that transitions seamlessly from Grant's indie rock background into Viera's electronic roots. Lyrically, Grant is pulling from some really dark places; the songs for the album were written and recorded in the wake of a bad breakup and learning that a passing sexual encounter had infected him with HIV and the words paint pictures of anger, hopelessness, disgust, self-loathing and misery, making the album a pretty heavy listen. Grant sings these words in a pure, smooth baritone that is one of the best voices I encountered in 2013.
Several songs on the album feature Sinead O'Connor on backing vocals; the most striking of these is "Why Don't You Love Me Anymore?" where Grant's flat-affect delivery is offset by O'Connor's fragile, bordering-on-unhinged harmonizing. Another standout is "GMF", named for an acronym of a key phrase in the chorus that will probably make you cheer once you listen to the song. Album opener "Pale Green Ghosts" shows the strongest connection to Viera's GusGus lineage, with its burbling bass line and synth stabs, while "I Hate This Town" puts me in mind of an alternate universe Billy Joel more enamored of stream-of-consciousness lyrics and hard-earned vitriol.
You can read an excellent interview with Grant conducted by Dorian Lynskey here.
John Grant - Pale Green Ghosts on Spotify
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