John Grant, former singer/songwriter with cult favorites The Czars, finally returns in with an extraordinary debut solo album made with Midlake.
“Queen Of Denmark” was recorded in Denton in late 2008 through 2009 in the studio downtime while Midlake was recording their latest record. The album moves through simple piano settings via an infusion of period-perfect synths that epitomise the lonely mood. There’s flute from Midlake frontman Tim Smith on the dreamiest cut ‘Marz’ and velvet strings on ‘Dreams’, which imagines Scott Walker influenced by Patsy Cline. Pain, hope, fear, regret and self-discovery, “Queen of Denmark” has it all, framed within some of the finest songs you’ll hear in this or any other year.
In May MOJO gave the album the seldom-awarded “Instant Classic” label. Following Joanna Newsom's “Have One On Me”, it is the second album to receive this honor since Fleet Foxes in 2008.
