John Grant - Boy From Michigan ⅘
Digging deep into his own personal history on this his fifth solo album, John Grant is revealing his genesis. Contemplative, ‘Boy From Michigan’ is imbued with the cold winds of his adopted homeland of Iceland.
The album’s sound is one of frozen beauty, the autographic tales are wrapped in the type of early eighties electronica that the BBC Radiophonic Workshop used to sonically illustrate the sci-fi trappings of 1980’s Doctor Who. So there is a real feeling of nostalgia for those of us of an older vintage.
Given that Grant has a tendency to lean to the darker viewpoint of life, it's refreshing to see him paint generally warm songs of his childhood. As always John’s voice is magnificent, warm and baroque. Musically it's not as varied as previous album ‘Love Is Magic’ and the songs sit together as a full suite rather than the scattershot mix of differing styles.
Not as immediate as earlier works, 'Boy From Michigan’ takes a few listens to reveal the beauty of the songwriting. It is also a slower paced album, there’s only one track which speeds the BPMs up and that’s the crazed ‘Rhetorical Figure’ featuring the bizarre sounds of Grant’s falsetto in the chorus. Using flutes and saxophones mixed in with his usual arsenal of electronica gives this album a rich texture which he paints the tales of growing up.
Oddly for Grant this album shows little of his usual dry, sardonic wit and lends itself to a more direct style of songwriting leaving this listener waiting for the punchlines, of which there are none.
Even so John Grant is one of our best and ‘Boy From Michigan’ is a elegant, cool journey through the past in the mind of a true, and uncompromising LGBT+ artist for our times.