The Fat Angel Sings

Following the runaway success of his last LP, “Boy From Michigan”, which crashed the UK Top 10 back in July 2021, legendary singer-songwriter John Grant returns with his hugely-anticipated sixth album, “The Art Of The Lie”.

Grant today announced his new album “The Art Of The Lie” due for release 14th June via Bella Union . To accompany the announcement Grant has shared a trailer for the album which features the funky first single ‘It’s A Bitch’ with a 70s and 80s synth laden groove and housing a deeper message,

Commenting on ‘It’s A Bitch’ Grant says: “It was a blast making this track which is just about having fun with words, synths and dope rhythms and bass lines and also making fun of post-COVID malaise. Plus, people get to ponder what a ‘hesher’ is. I loved going to the arcade in the 80s and watching smokin’-hot heshers hold court while playing Tempest, Stargate, Robotron and Asteroids, and while also blasting Iron Maiden and Rush on their Walkmans.” 

“The Art Of The Lie” is Grant’s most opulent, cinematic, luxurious album yet and confirms Grant’s status as a modern electronic auteur. Grant likens the musical flavours of “The Art of the Lie” to the sumptuous Vangelis soundtrack for Bladerunner or the Carpenters if John Carpenter were also a member. While undeniably a John Grant record, nestling humour into tragedy, bleeding anger into compassion, there is a musical ambition and nerve to ‘The Art of the Lie’ which offsets its most political and personal moments.

“The Art of The Lie” was produced by Grant and Grammy-nominated producer Ivor Guest who is perhaps best known for his work with Grace Jones and Brigitte Fontaine. The album features an array of celebrated musicians including Dave Okumu, Seb Rochford and Robin Mullarkey.

Additionally, Grant has announced news of an extensive UK & EU tour in October and November.

John Grant began thinking about “The Art of The Lie” in the Autumn of 2022. Earlier that year, John had been introduced to Ivor Guest, producer and composer at Grace Jones’ Southbank show, the finale of her Meltdown Festival. They began talking about two records Guest had worked on, ‘Hurricane’ for Jones, ‘Prohibition’ for Brigitte Fontaine. “Grace and Brigitte are two very big artists for me,” says Grant. “I love the albums he did for them. ‘Hurricane’ is an indispensable piece of Grace’s catalogue.” An idea was sparked. “I said, I really think you should do this next record with me. He said, I think you’re right.” 

The hard juxtaposition of beauty and cruelty makes for compelling listening on Grant’s sixth album, a record that ties childhood trauma to hardened adult after-effects, twinning both to the political malaise of America 2024, a country being drawn to the precipice of its own destruction. “We were allowed to feel like we belonged for a couple of seconds,” says Grant. “Not anymore.” 

“This album is in part about the lies people espouse and the brokenness it breeds and how we are warped and deformed by these lies”, he says. “For example, the Christian Nationalist movement has formed an alliance with White Supremacist groups and together they have taken over the Republican party and see LGBTQ+ people and non-whites as genetically and even mentally inferior and believe all undesirables must be forced either to convert to Christianity and adhere to the teachings of the Bible as interpreted by them or they must be removed in order that purity be restored to ‘their’ nation. They now believe Democracy is not the way to achieve these goals. Any sort of pretence of tolerance that may have seemed to develop over the past several decades has all but vanished. It feels like the U.S. in is free-fall mode.”

Softcult are back with another new single “Spiralling out”, which comes after having previously released “Haunt You Still”, and at the end of last year “Heaven”, title track of the new EP that they will release on May 24th. Formed of twin siblings Phoenix and Mercedes Arn Horn, based in Canada the duo Softcult have had a busy few years touring extensively with the likes of Incubus, Movements and MUSE, as well as releasing a trio of excellent EPs:

The band made up of Canadians Mercedes and Phoenix Arn-Horn released their brand new third EP “See you in the dark” last year, which came after releasing “Year of the Snake” months ago and “Year of the Rat” in 2022. With their shimmering guitar tones, swirling FX and atmospheric dual vocals, Softcult provide their listeners with welcome moments of respite from the pressures of everyday life. With tracks that touch on issues of body image and self esteem, to anthems that advocate for gender equality and anti-capitalism, the duo’s musical ethos is rooted in a desire for a better world than the one we currently exist in. 

British musician Lucy Rose released a third album, “No Words Left”, back in 2019. It garnered the strongest critical acclaim of her career and culminated in a sell-out show at London’s Barbican theatre. It was a record that ruminated in a sort of hushed reverence, emotionally charged and deftly delivered.

Lucy had planned to spend some well-earned time at home in the record’s aftermath, having toured relentlessly since her late teens. She’d balanced that precariously spinning plate by forming her own record label too, Real Kind Records, putting out new records by artists she admired and thought deserved her due care and attention. With both plates spinning, she managed to catch them just before the pandemic ensured her plan for some rest and recuperation became an enforced reality. She welcomed her first child, Otis, in the summer of 2021. All was well until she was diagnosed with a rare form of pregnancy induced osteoporosis.

With a life being lived upside down, and only now without the indignity of excruciating pain, making music wasn’t seeded top of Lucy’s priority list. Any fleeting thought of writing a new record, or even sitting down with a guitar or at a piano, took a back seat to building up the strength to walk and care for Otis. As her confidence started to rebuild, so did her usual inhibitions in the making of music. Inspired by a trip to America with friend and rapper Logic, she later worked with renowned producer Kwes to finish the record.

“This Ain’t The Way You Go Out” is an album constructed from the ashes of despair, nurturing the tiniest of green shoots and giving life to something that had looked otherwise spent. It’s a new era for Lucy, and an era in its purest, truest sense. An artist re-awakening herself to the power of music, and having a lot of fun in the process of its discovery and delivery.

Pandora’s Jukebox features fifty-two recording artists to send you on a journey of musical discovery. For each artist you’ll find a brief history, three songs singled out, a highlighted album and a list of similar artists. There’s also space for you to add your own opinions, as we all have an opinion on music, right?

Which band found their most well-known sample in a Lake District bargain bucket for 50p?

Which singer was the first American to hear about the death of Joseph Stalin?

Who has had more Number 1 hits in Jamaica than Bob Marley?

The list is far from definitive and deliberately leaves out the biggest names – if you haven’t brought your kids up without at least a glimpse of Bowie, the Beatles and Prince then no book in the world is going to help you! Some have been influential in the development of music, such as Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Missy Elliott, while others, such as Sinéad O’Connor and Nina Simone, have used their platform to raise awareness of important issues.

Now it’s over to you.

Grab your kids or nudge your adults and use this book as a signpost to the bands and musicians within, embarking on your own journey of appreciation and love (or otherwise) of the music that has been created.

Featured artists:

808 State, Aaliyah, Air, Alabama Shakes, Tori Amos, the Avalanches, BABYMETAL, Bee Gees, Björk, Blondie, Kate Bush, Johnny Cash, Tracy Chapman, Chic, Norman Cook, Daft Punk, Depeche Mode, Delia Derbyshire, the Doors, Billie Eilish, Elastica, the Fall, Florence + the Machine, Fugees, John Grant, Groove Armada, PJ Harvey, Housemartins/Beautiful South, Hüsker Dü, the Jam, Joy Division, the Kinks, Kraftwerk, Lady Gaga, Little Richard, Lizzo, Mazzy Star, Missy Elliott, Nirvana, Sinéad O’Connor, Dolly Parton, Portishead, the Prodigy, Minnie Riperton, Robyn, Sigur Rós, Nina Simone, Dusty Springfield, the Strokes, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Toots and the Maytals and Amy Winehouse.

Francis Of Delirium — a project of Luxembourg-based artist Jana Bahrich — is set to release their debut LP, “Lighthouse”, on March 22nd via Dalliance Recordings. 

“For this album, hope is the prevailing feeling I’m left with after making it and listening to it,” Bahrich said in a press statement. “The idea is that there is this light guiding you out into a space where you can be more open and accepting of love and joy. Even as you gain or lose love, it never really goes away; it just transforms itself, moving into other relationships with you.”

She says this was “a chance to go back a little bit to our original sound, heavy guitars, uptempo, in-your-face music… We are a band that really loves to play live, sweaty, messy, and physical music, so it felt important to have this song be part of the album.”

The latest issue of Record Collector, due out this Thursday, if you were there in the early 70s at the various free festivals and West London happenings that made up the period’s countercultural ‘freak scene’. And if you weren’t, hopefully this month’s cover story will bring it alive. Props to writer Sarah Gregory for tracking down some of the survivors/major players and getting them to retell/relive the tale. Elsewhere, Danny Baker explains why he’s decided to auction off his record collection, Jim Reid of the Jesus and Mary Chain reveals the names of his most loathed 80s acts, we meet ‘ambient metal’ progenitors Earth and the reliably engaging Elbow, introduce the ‘discodelic’ (it says here) Say She She and ‘American Clash’ Red Rockers, recall the moment Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Muddy Waters brought the blues to a Manchester railway station, and review Nico, Bowie and the Manics among many others. A nod’s as good as a Twink, or something.

“Da Capo” was Arthur Lee and LOVE’s second album, ( Released November’66 ) out of three made with his core group of L.A. musicians. The album was followed and overshadowed by the rock masterpiece “Forever Changes,” but the songs here are streaked with brilliance and innovation. Many musicians’ minds were blown by its collage of sounds and crazy quilt of influences, the material clearly ahead of its time.

“Da Capo” is, in a sense, a more adventurous album than “Forever Changes.” In any case, these tracks are among the finest recordings of Love as musicians. (Key parts of “Forever Changes” were played by hired hands.)

The band had expanded to seven players, upgraded its drummer, added woodwinds and, of all things, integrated a harpsichord. The first side of “Da Capo” is a lovely experiment in fusing sounds from rock, Latin rhythms, jazz and classical. Lee and company succeed at this without pandering, producing some of their best songs. The second side of “Da Capo,” alas, is dedicated entirely to the notorious jam “Revelation,” which has done great damage to the otherwise brilliant album’s reputation.

Some of the highlights: “Seven & Seven Is” could be the most explosive 2 1/2 minutes in ’60s rock. When rocks fans think of Love, they usually conjure up “Forever Changes,” “My Little Red Book” and this frantic yet somehow cohesive piece. The rage of drums, bass and guitar gives way to the sound of an atomic bomb explosion.

“Orange Skies,” from the band’s terrific second songwriter Brian MacLean, brings us the delightfully trippy lyric “Orange skies, carnivals and cotton candy and you.” Touches of samba with Tijay Cantrelli’s flute as the lead instrument. “Que Vida!” continues the theme, with a B3 organ streaming below the surface.

“She Comes in Colors” is Love’s version of a power ballad. A flute drifts over the love song, sung with precision by Lee. About 20 seconds in, the song shifts from an easy tempo to barely restrained rock. The harpsichord returns midway though. “My love she comes in colors,” Lee sings over and over. “You can tell her from the clothes she wears.” The care and precision in the production foreshadow “Forever Changes.” Keith Richards said “She Comes in Colors” inspired the Stones’ “She’s a Rainbow.”

Robin Trower, once an essential element of Procol Harum for 5 albums, eventually split from that band to go solo after a failed attempt in another band. Formed in 1973, Robin Trower released “Twice Removed From Yesterday“. But it was his “Bridge Of Sighs” album that hit the gold standard when it released in 1974. The album didn’t yield a hit single but more than half the album ended up being popular staples of the great FM Radio experience of the day. 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of “Bridge of Sighs“, and so…

On May 17th, Chrysalis will help celebrate that 50th Anniversary of “Bridge of Sighs” with a brand new Stereo Mix and Remaster of the album, and coupling it with outtakes and rarities never heard before, and a CD of a live US show in its entirety from the period. Additionally, a Blu-ray will be packed into the box with 5.1 Surround Mix, Atmos mix, and a collection of outtakes, and instrumental tracks.

Procol Harum’s Robin Trower released his second solo album, “Bridge of Sighs”, in 1974 to critical and commercial acclaim. The album features Trower on guitar with James Dewar (bass, vocals) and Reg Isidore (drums). Robin’s former bandmate Matthew Fisher produces with former Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick taking on control room duties.

The 3CD+blu-ray set features both a remastered version of the original mix of the album (CD 1), a brand new 2024 stereo remix of “Bridge of Sighs” which contains longer versions of the songs, since it was discovered during the remixing process that they had been edited back in the day, most likely to ensure the album fitted comfortably on vinyl. For example, ‘In This Place’ is 4.29 on the original album but 6.17 on the stereo remix, while ‘Little Bit of Sympathy’ is also almost two minutes longer. Every track is different in this way. Added to CD 2 is a very generous selection of outtakes and rarities, all previously unreleased, including rehearsals, early versions and the like.

The third CD offers live audio available in its entirety for the first time and newly remastered from the original tape transfers. The blu-ray includes a Dolby Atmos Mix (by Richard Whittaker), a 5.1 Mix, the remastered stereo version, the remixed stereo version, a slightly different selection of stereo outtakes (extra ones!), the live tracks in stereo and an exclusive instrumental stereo mix.

“Bridge of Sighs” will be released on 17 May 2024, via Chrysalis.