John Grant

With his second solo album, last year’s Pale Green Ghosts, Colorado native turned Reykjavik resident John Grant embraced a synth-pop aesthetic beside his often mournful piano-based style. Live, this made for an eminently danceable Depeche Mode club sound, notably on that record’s title track, though that was only half the story. Slower numbers, such as the gloriously sweary ‘GMF’ and ‘Vietnam’, along with the huge crescendos of ‘Glacier’ and ‘Where Dreams Go To Die’ were truly majestic. A few songs from his old band The Czars – including their cover of Abba’s ‘Angel Eyes’ at the scene of their Eurovision triumph – only served to sweeten the deal.

Dome Concert Hall, 27 June 2014
Rating:
Nick Aldwinckle