JOHN GRANT WITH MIDLAKE – QUEEN OF DENMARK

Former Czars front man John Grant teams with Midlake for his first solo album. It certainly sounds like the right formulae. Grant has a wonderful voice – able to reach the vibratto heights of a Tim Buckley, with the baritone  depths of a Stephen Merritt – which would seem well paired with Midlake’s moody middle-pop creations, yet Queen of Denmark never really takes off. The opening TC and Honeybear immediately showcases Grant’s croon, and as the song swells to its conclusion hope are high. The following Marz is an album highlight, a simple piano and strings tune that allows Grant’s best melody to rise and float above the earth. But even these songs are best for what they hint at rather than realise, and from then on it’s Grant’s cynicism and Midlake’s mystical optimism that rarely seem to coalesce. For all his cuteness on tracks like Sigourney Weaver and Jesus Hates Faggots Grant fails to take Midlake along on this particular journey, and leaves his best somewhere out there in the ether. Two great talents combining to frustrate.

** 1/2