Showing posts with label john grant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label john grant. Show all posts

Monday, February 22, 2010

John Grant - "I Wanna Go To Marz"



A few weeks ago, I wrote about The Czars' John Grant returning with his debut solo LP, Queen of Denmark. Today, an MP3 from the album was released.

MP3: John Grant (w/ Midlake) - "I Wanna Go To Marz"

The song has to be one of most beautiful things I have ever heard. If magic had a sound, I'd imagine it would not be too far off from this. As I mentioned before, Midlake is serving as Grant's backing band on Queen of Denmark. You can certainly here the band's sound (specifically that flute) spread evenly throughout this track. And while Midlake plays to their strengths here, they certainly do not steal any spotlight from Grant. The chorus is uplifting with a crisp baritone guitar, a simple yet gorgeous string arrangement, and a moving vocal harmony.

The first thing that came to mind when I was listening to this song was the score to "The Snowman." If you're not familiar with it, you can watch the entire thing (it's under a half-hour) below via Google Video. It's an animated piece with no dialogue, driven and supported by its great score. Music, here, is much more captivating and compelling than any dialogue could ever be. The version below was taped from a TV broadcast and features an introduction by David Bowie (!).

Thursday, February 04, 2010

The Czars' John Grant Returns With Debut Solo LP



Denver's cult favorites The Czars may have broken up, but frontman John Grant is still at it. Following the break up, Grant moved to New York and soon found himself opening shows for The Flaming Lips and Midlake. Grant struck up a friendship with Midlake, and the band soon became strong supporters of his work. In fact, Midlake were responsible for helping Grant create what would end up being his solo debut, Queen of Denmark.

From late 2008 into 2009, Grant lived in Midlake's hometown of Denton, TX to work with the band on the album. Despite working on their most recent release, The Courage of Others, Midlake made time to serve as the backing band, delivering their best '70s-style soft rock accompaniment for Grant's distinguished voice.

In April, Grant will release Queen of Denmark through Bella Union.