Grey Tickles, Black Pressure – an amalgamation of Icelandic and Turkish describing a nightmarish mid-life crisis – is an apt title for John Grant’s newest work. At 47, and now in a stable relationship in Iceland, Grant’s focus shifts somewhat away from the painful self-deprecation listeners have been used to in his previous two albums. Grant’s midlife crisis seems to be a peak in which his problems are put in a new perspective; he realises in the title track that “there are children who have cancer… I can’t compete with that”. His dark, witty humour never ceases to elicit an uneasy smile.

Grant has built upon the electronic influences in Pale Green Ghosts, and his melodic and piercingly poignant lyricism is out in full force. A recitation from Corinthians, 13:4-7, introduces the album, framing it as a discussion on what love truly means. Perhaps he has started to believe the message that “love is kind”. A feeling of scepticism and irony is never far away though, of course. The seedy bassline of ‘Snug Slacks’ suits his low, smooth, salacious voice asking to “see what kind of punch your manhood packs”.

The introduction to ‘Disappointing’ appears to be similarly sleazy, but the song is in fact the most endearing on the album. Unlike previous bittersweet tales of a love lost, here Grant relishes the present, where “there is nothing more beautiful than your smile”. A “metaphor for fear”, ‘No More Tangles’ is a reminder that despite his new relationship, Grant suffers from previous encounters, and still feels far from invincible.

Fans of his debut Queen of Denmark need not worry, despite the albums strongly electronic feel. The warm and upbeat acoustic guitar on ‘Down Here’ is reminiscent of his former band The Czars’ ‘Paint the Moon’. Also ‘Global Warming’ is an example of what makes John Grant most immediately approachable. The beautiful mixing of retro synthesiser, violins, and undulating vocals make it a familiar, homely delight to listen to. Also familiar is the bassline of ‘You & Him’, taken directly from ‘Black Belt’, album track on Pale Green Ghosts. Grant has also created a leitmotif of his past lover ‘TC’ throughout his three albums. Any love left lingering in ‘Where Dreams Go to Die’ off Queen of Denmark seems a lifetime ago, compared with his advice on ‘You & Him’ that “you and Hitler oughta get together”. Declaring that “you seem like someone they should chemically castrate” is but one of many ruthless insults hailed against him in this final act of defiance. For once, Grant does not feel alone – an entire crowd of backing vocalists support him.

In ‘Geraldine’, the album’s penultimate track, Grant ends on a note of cinematic defiance. The outro repeats the Corinthians passage, and stridently continues with the air of confidence that pervades the last few tracks. The childish innocence seems to suggest that he is now finally able to discover the positive message he should have felt from a young age. Perhaps finally, in his midlife epiphany, John Grant can now truly feel (with due scepticism) that love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.