Artist: Band
Career: debut
Language: English
Genre: Rock
The Czars are far from John Grant’s Heatmiser, though he seems to talk them down these days – then again, he can talk down the first birds of spring. On the contrary, they may have more of a rock band sound compared to Grant’s solo work, but it’s a rock band that can capture and deepen every nuance in the songs, they don’t plow over them with a truck. It’s a taut, highly disciplined band. They strip the arrangements down to just the necessary parts from each player, and weave them around Grant’s vocals, always the focal point. Superficially these songs may seem straightforward, but they twist and double back on you before you know it. The band not only deliver all that stuff well, they contribute to the music’s power. Indeed, some of my favorites here are the bass player’s and the drummer’s co-writes.
As for the songs… It took Grant the better part of a decade to get from this Czars debut and the resultant obscurity to cult artist status. But it’s not down to quality. On the basis of this, I’d say he arrived fully formed. Grant deals in the messiness of life, the complexities and contradictions, the dark clouds behind every silver lining, and the silver lining on every dark cloud – even if it’s mostly just so your misery can be other people’s amusement. But he knows it’s in the mess that life can find meaning, like in ‘What can I do for you’ where two unhappy people lean on each other for a while.
And basically, he sings everything like a motherfucker.
At its best: Val, Concentrate, Gangrene, Stay, Zippermouth
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