★★★★★
That wry, pitch-black sense of humor and blistering wit are as integral a part of the John Grant live experience, as that sonorous baritone voice or any of those brutally honest lyrics. Like Mark Kozelek, the man doesn't mince words when he's in front of an audience, and the unflinching, sarcastic banter is often both sharply direct and hilariously impromptu. The little tales he spins are as engrossing as the musical performances themselves...
- www.popmatters.com
2015-02-12
★★★★★
John Grant has been adding live strings to his lovelorn tales for a couple of years, utilising various concert orchestras across the globe. But a recent session for BBC radio prompted this latest release: a sublime slant on the tracks from his two albums which, you gotta admit, even he must think need a little refreshing after such relentless touring.
- recordcollectormag.com
2015-01-01
★★★★★
"I usually introduce this one by saying that, quite simply, it's a song about how the United States is not a theocracy." Dictionary? Over there on the bookshelf. Right, so that's that cleared up. This intro to the wonderful 'Glacier' tells you about the kind of artist John Grant is: bloody minded, gifted and ever so slightly unusual. The most straightforward thing about this album is its title. It does what it says on the tin...
- music.thedigitalfix.com
2014-12-06
★★★★★
Former Czars frontman John Grant brings the drama on the embittered follow-up to his widely acclaimed 2010 solo debut, Queen Of Denmark. Last summer, the bearish 44-year-old revealed during a performance at London's Meltdown Festival that he is HIV-positive, one of many subjects he tackles - homophobia, breakups, addiction and aging, among others - with his signature unflinching honesty...
- nowtoronto.com
2013-05-30
★★★★★
Former Czars frontman John Grant brings the drama on the embittered follow-up to his widely acclaimed 2010 solo debut, Queen Of Denmark.
Last summer, the bearish 44-year-old revealed during a performance at London's Meltdown Festival that he is HIV-positive, one of many subjects he tackles - homophobia, breakups, addiction and aging, among others - with his signature unflinching honesty...
- www.nowtoronto.com
2013-05-31
★★★★★
In essence, core songwriting can rightly elevate a record, with an equal power to decimate. Pale Green Ghosts, the second solo album by John Grant (formerly of The Czars) is an interesting case study in that it's the type of hit-or-miss record experiencing gentrification, with prime architecture neighboring decrepit lots-by-default. Ultimately, the filet of the block facilitates the 'hood's population, but it's a shame that Grant wasn't more meticulous in his tracklist editing...
- filtermagazine.com
2013-05-18
★★★★★
On the percolating title track that opens John Grant's second solo album, he sings of "pale green ghosts"-- trees that line the Colorado byways by which he oriented himself, "Helping me to know my place." The line packs a double meaning, as the entire album is Grant mapping exactly where he's at after the fiery dissolution of a relationship with a man who a mere album ago was the one...
- pitchfork.com
2013-05-18
★★★★★
The second solo album from the former front man for The Czars dramatically expands his sound by injecting his '70s-inspired pop-rock balladry with large doses of chilly synth-pop. Recorded in Iceland (where he now lives) with Biggi Viera of GusGus producing, the album is stuffed with beautifully crafted songs featuring Grant's sonorous baritone croon and ruthlessly honest lyrics of lost love, shame and regret, delivered with a fair amount of dark humor and self-lacerating wit.
- kexp.org
2013-04-20
★★★★★
The elegance, grandeur and theatricality of Grant's 2010 solo debut Queen Of Denmark won him many fans - some of whom began vociferously campaigning for him to be given a crack at recording a 007 theme, such was the dramatic atmosphere of his songs. He may still get the gig, should his profile and appeal continue to broaden at the rate it is, but in the meantime he continues to brandish a license to thrill...
- recordcollectormag.com
2013-04-01
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