Grey Tickles, Black Pressure

Grey Tickles, Black Pressure
Studio album by John Grant
Released October 9, 2015
Recorded 2014–2015
Genre soft rock, electronic rock, synthpop, New Wave
Length 57:23
Label Bella Union
Producer John Congleton and John Grant
John Grant chronology
Pale Green Ghosts
(2013)		 Grey Tickles, Black Pressure
(2015)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(82/100)[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Clash(9/10)[2]
The Guardian[3]
Drowned in Sound(8/10)[4]
Now[5]
PopMatters(8/10)[6]
Q[1]
Mojo[7]
Uncut[1]

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.[8]

The album received critical acclaim upon its release.[1] In its review, NME named it "One of the albums of the year", praising both its personal lyrics and its pop melodies.[9] Time named "Disappointing" (a song from the album) the sixth-best song of 2015.[10]

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 yielding 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.[11]

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
Rough Trade Albums of the Year 2015 2015

Track listing

No. Title Length
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

Charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[14] 46
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[15] 87
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[16] 34
French Albums (SNEP)[17] 122
Irish Albums (IRMA)[18] 3
Italian Albums (FIMI)[19] 99
New Zealand Albums (Recorded Music NZ)[20] 27
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[21] 21
UK Albums (OCC)[22] 5
US Top Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[23] 20

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Grey Tickles, Black Pressure -Metacritic. Metacritic. Retrieved October 7, 2015
  2. ↑ Grey Tickles, Black Pressure - review". Clash magazine. Retrieved October 7, 2015
  3. ↑ Grey Tickles, Black Pressure - review. The Guardian. Retrieved October 7, 2015
  4. ↑ Grey Tickles, Black Pressure - review. Drownedinsound. Retrieved October 7, 2015
  5. ↑ Grey Tickles, Black Pressure - review. Now. Retrieved October 7, 2015
  6. ↑ Grey Tickles, Black Pressure - review. Popmatters. Retrieved October 7, 2015
  7. ↑ Grey Tickles, Black Pressure - review. Mojo. Retrieved October 7, 2015
  8. ↑ "John Grant announces third solo album". Bella Union. Bella Union. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  9. ↑ Grey Tickles, Black Pressure - review. NME. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Best Songs of 2015". Time. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Why Is John Grant So Bloody Upset". Out. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  12. ↑ "The Best Albums of 2015". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. December 2, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Albums of the Year 2015". roughtrade.com. 2015-11-25. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
  14. ↑ "Ultratop.be – John Grant – Grey Tickles, Black Pressure" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Ultratop.be – John Grant – Grey Tickles, Black Pressure" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – John Grant – Grey Tickles, Black Pressure" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Lescharts.com – John Grant – Grey Tickles, Black Pressure". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  18. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 42, 2015". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – John Grant – Grey Tickles, Black Pressure". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  20. ↑ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – John Grant – Grey Tickles, Black Pressure". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  23. ↑ "John Grant - Chart history (Heatseekers Albums) | Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
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