Grey Tickles, Black Pressure

Grey Tickles, Black Pressure is the third solo album by former The Czars frontman John Grant. The album and track list were officially announced on June 23 and was released October 8 via Bella Union.[13]

Grey Tickles, Black Pressure
Studio album by
John Grant
ReleasedOctober 9, 2015
Recorded2014–2015
GenreSoft rock, electronic rock, synth-pop, new wave
Length57:23
LabelBella Union
ProducerJohn Congleton and John Grant
John Grant chronology
Pale Green Ghosts
(2013)		 Grey Tickles, Black Pressure
(2015)		 Love is Magic
(2018)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.1/10[1]
Metacritic82/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The Guardian[4]
The Independent[5]
The Irish Times[6]
Mojo[7]
The Observer[8]
Q[9]
Record Collector[10]
Rolling Stone[11]
Uncut8/10[12]

The album received critical acclaim upon its release.[2] In its review, NME named it "One of the albums of the year", praising both its personal lyrics and its pop melodies.[14] Time named "Disappointing" (a song from the album) the fifth-best song of 2015.[15]

Development

The record's title comes from the raw translation of two phrases from the Icelandic and Turkish languages respectively: "grey tickles" refers to approaching middle age; "black pressure" comes from the Turkish word for nightmare. Grant stated that he wanted to get angrier and moodier on this record although he enjoyed the process of making this album more than the previous two. The album's trailer features Grant in what appears to be after a psychotic break, covered in blood and wielding a croquet mallet as a weapon. Grant described it as a fantasy of what he would like to do every time somebody calls him a faggot.[16]

Tracey Thorn previously of Everything but the Girl features on vocals on the track "Disappointing". The album's other two guests are vocalist Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls and former Siouxsie and the Banshees drummer Budgie.

Accolades
Publication Accolade Year Rank
The Guardian The Best Albums of 2015 2015
38[17]
Rough Trade Albums of the Year 2015 2015
11[18]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Intro"1:36
2."Grey Tickles, Black Pressure"5:30
3."Snug Slacks"4:11
4."Guess How I Know"3:34
5."You & Him"3:26
6."Down Here"4:09
7."Voodoo Doll"3:07
8."Global Warming"4:04
9."Magma Arrives"5:02
10."Black Blizzard"4:48
11."Disappointing"4:56
12."No More Tangles"6:09
13."Geraldine"6:22
14."Outro"0:30

Personnel
  • John Grant – lead vocals, keyboards, synth programming and sequencing
  • Pétur Hallgrímsson – guitar
  • Jakob Smári Magnússon – bass
  • Budgie – drums

Additional musicians

  • Amanda Palmer – additional vocals (track 5)
  • Tracey Thorn – additional vocals (track 11)
  • Fiona Brice - additional vocals, string, brass and vocal arrangements (written and conducted by), violin
  • Tierannye Sparks - additional vocals
  • Alisa Alexander - additional vocals
  • Bobby Sparks - keyboards
  • John Congleton - synth programming and sequencing, drum programming and sequencing
  • David Monsch - bass clarinet
  • Matt Milewski - violin
  • Natalie Floyd - violin
  • Sarah Carmichael - violin
  • Buffi Jacobs - cello
  • Debbie Brooks - cello
  • Keith Jourdan - trumpet
  • Peter Clagett - trumpet
  • David Pierce - trombone
  • Carl Murr - trombone
  • Simon Willats - tuba
  • Heather Test - french horn
  • Wes Baggaley - spoken word (track 1)
  • Olafur Darri Olafsson - spoken word (track 1)
  • Petra Hallberg - spoken word (track 1)
  • Jeppe Kjellberg - spoken word (track 1)
  • Billy Novik - spoken word (track 1)
  • Karl Neukauf - spoken word (track 1)
  • Carys Connolly - spoken word (track 14)

Charts
Chart (2015) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[19] 46
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[20] 87
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] 34
French Albums (SNEP)[22] 122
Irish Albums (IRMA)[23] 3
Italian Albums (FIMI)[24] 99
New Zealand Albums (Recorded Music NZ)[25] 27
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[26] 21
UK Albums (OCC)[27] 5
US Top Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[28] 20

References
  1. "Grey Tickles, Black Pressure by John Grant reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  2. "Reviews for Grey Tickles, Black Pressure by John Grant". Metacritic. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  3. Phares, Heather. "Grey Tickles, Black Pressure – John Grant". AllMusic. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  4. Petridis, Alexis (October 1, 2015). "John Grant: Grey Tickles, Black Pressure review – trauma, jokes and joy". The Guardian. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  5. Gill, Andy (October 9, 2015). "John Grant, Grey Tickles, Black Pressure – album review: Melancholy masterpieces with an electro-funk groove raise a smile". The Independent. Archived from the original on October 11, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  6. Murphy, Lauren (October 9, 2015). "John Grant: Grey Tickles, Black Pressure | Album of the Week". The Irish Times. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  7. Trynka, Paul (October 2, 2015). "John Grant – Grey Tickles, Black Pressure". Mojo. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  8. Empire, Kitty (October 4, 2015). "John Grant: Grey Tickles, Black Pressure review – the most chipper of Grant's solo works". The Observer. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  9. "John Grant: Grey Tickles, Black Pressure". Q (352): 110. November 2015.
  10. Kennedy, Jake (November 2015). "John Grant – Grey Tickles, Black Pressure". Record Collector (446). Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  11. Walters, Barry (October 6, 2015). "Grey Tickles, Black Pressure". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  12. "John Grant: Grey Tickles, Black Pressure". Uncut (222): 70. November 2015.
  13. "John Grant announces third solo album". Bella Union. Bella Union. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  14. Grey Tickles, Black Pressure - review. NME. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  15. "Best Songs of 2015". Time. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  16. "Why Is John Grant So Bloody Upset". Out. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  17. "The Best Albums of 2015". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. December 2, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  18. "Albums of the Year 2015". roughtrade.com. 2015-11-25. Archived from the original on 2015-12-05. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
  19. "Ultratop.be – John Grant – Grey Tickles, Black Pressure" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  20. "Ultratop.be – John Grant – Grey Tickles, Black Pressure" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  21. "Dutchcharts.nl – John Grant – Grey Tickles, Black Pressure" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  22. "Lescharts.com – John Grant – Grey Tickles, Black Pressure". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  23. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 42, 2015". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  24. "Italiancharts.com – John Grant – Grey Tickles, Black Pressure". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  25. "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  26. "Norwegiancharts.com – John Grant – Grey Tickles, Black Pressure". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  27. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  28. "John Grant - Chart history (Heatseekers Albums) | Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
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