11 years after he released his stunning debut solo album Queen of DenmarkJohn Grant has returned to his prime with his fifth studio album, Boy from Michigan. It’s been almost three years since John Grant’s last studio album, Love is magicand you can hear in the lyrics and verses of John’s latest album that the impact of those three years has certainly found its way onto the record. Boy from Michigan is a twelve-song album that showcases Grant’s wit, unbelievable honesty, and theatrical tone to perfection.
Where Love is magic sometimes almost optimistic and gentle, Boy from Michigan somewhat back to the norm for John Grant. That’s not to say there aren’t moments of excitement and fun, moreover John’s perspective seems to have changed to capture memories and sadness more deeply. The closest song John Grant brings to the lighter tracks Love is magicas Preppy Boy or He has his mother’s hipson his Sparks/Disco compilation single, Rhetorical drawings. John’s briefest, shortest retro compilation on the album at 3 minutes 59 seconds, is the highest tempo and tempo track on his new disc.
Rhetorical drawingsThe third single was raised from Boy from Michiganis certainly more immediate and more commercial than the other 11 songs on the new album but it’s by no means representative, the only other song that even comes close to 80s synth pop is The best in me. The rest of the album has a much more refined arrangement that compliments Grant’s thoughtful and crafted compositions. Much of the rest of the recording is reflective and balladic, JG’s forte. Grant’s latest single, Billy, captures the essence of the album. It’s a nice song that just raises the bar a bit on the piano’s main point. The inspired use of the clarinet adds another dimension as John softly sings of his love for Billy… “I saw you walk in, And instantly fell victim to your tractor-like grin.”
John Grant has joined Cate Le Bon on his new record. Le Bon has done an excellent job with his production on Boy from Michigan and bring out the best from the talented singer-songwriter. Where the two have combined to the greatest effect is said to have been absent on any single to date. When Only babies, Boy from Michigan, Rhetorical drawings and Billy both highlight Grant’s ability to craft and deliver diverse and consistently entertaining, very often educational songs, which aren’t the best the album has to offer.
The album begins with what Grant has described as his “Michigan Trilogy”, the album’s title track, Fair and Rusty ball. All three tracks combine Grant’s amazing song-making and shaping abilities. There’s always a lot of detail as John builds the plot, introduces and develops the characters, and draws you in. Turn on Fair he shares familiar trips; The Zipper, The Matterhorn and The Double Ferris Wheel while Cindy walks him through the fair as he stares longingly at the cotton candy cane. He puts you in his world and lets you live in it. The Dark Threat of Rusty Bull similarly set up, as Grant sets up the scene, conveys his story and carefully adds every detail you need to keep your involvement. When Rusty Bull Breaking through into an uplifting and harmonious chorus, it delivers one of the many highlights found on the album.
John Grant is pretty much unique in the way he can craft a song that’s both heartbreaking at times and comically unlucky. The details of his observations are captured and communicated in a way that only he can. (You could also be excused from thinking that there are more medical conditions mentioned on John Grant’s albums than in some episodes of John Grant. House).
Mike and Julie and Yacht room, two slower reflective tracks, is where Grant shares some memories from his teenage years and about his first sexual encounters. Grant said: “Mike was the first guy I had sex with. He went to our church and was my best friend for many years but I was never able to talk to him about what was going on. happened between us”. Yacht room took us to the “just f**king splendor” Art Deco bar at Denver’s Oxford Hotel. Vague piano music plays beneath Grant’s most soulful vocal performance as he relives the things he still didn’t know and you can’t help but be blown away.
Boy from Michigan was made in the midst of a global pandemic, and during the US presidential election, and both certainly contributed to the mood on John Grant’s latest album. JG brings the American dream, his brutal honesty about his own life, and his specific views on a wide variety of other topics, all brought to life through 12 cases. Incredible tracks make a crack album.
