Grey Tickles, Black Pressure is not only a collection of emotionally affecting, even heart-breaking songs, but also comes loaded with lines filled with dry humour and a witty turn of phrase.
The Grant of 2015 has grown, and found happiness in love ... This version is older, happier maybe – while still possessing the same mordant wit, rich baritone and disarming, even angry honesty – and ready to face the hidden surprises of middle age.
At nearly an hour long, Grey Tickles, Black Pressure is a dense, rewarding listen from an artist who's becoming more complex, and more direct, with each album.
Grey Tickles, Black Pressure is a rich, dense and rewarding album. Dig deep into it and watch it envelop you - decay and chaos has rarely sounded so seductive.
A masterfully sincere yet acerbic balladeer stretches himself a little thin on an otherwise strong album.
While Grey Tickles, Black Pressure should be a career-definiting opus, it just seems unfocussed and uncertain; Grant's barbs aren't as sharp, which means too few of the songs stick like they should.
The third Grant solo album unfortunately ended up a minor disappointment, though the title 'Grey Tickles, Black Pressure' (alluding to a midlife crisis) is well chosen - this album isn't born from youthful struggle but instead marks the middle aged malaise of catching yourself worrying about what exactly you should be worrying about; rather than sobbing into a pillow here we capture our hero lost in the supermarket, slack jawed watching haemorrhoid ointment commercials or musing that all he has ... read more
Intro ~ ★☆☆☆☆
Grey Tickles, Black Pressure ~ ★★★★☆
Snug Slacks ~ ★★☆☆☆
Guess How I Know ~ ★★★☆☆
You & Him ~ ★★☆☆☆
Down Here ~ ★★★★☆
Voodoo Doll ~ ★★☆☆☆
Global Warming ~ ★★★★☆
Magma Arrives ~ ★★★☆☆
Black Blizzard ~ ★★★☆☆
Disappointing ~ ★★★☆☆
No More Tangles ~ ★★★☆☆
Geraldine ~ ★★★☆☆
Outro ~ ★☆☆☆☆
⏳ new & improved: time-weighted score ⏳
The third album from New York singer/songwriter still captures that playful grandeur and lyrical complexity he has known for with the addition of varied musical flairs (balladry, funk to noise rock to avant electro-pop) that hinges on wide range of strings, horns and keyboards/synthesizers sounding more organic and tangible. Also, that evil grin on the cover art is a mood all day.
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 4:55 feat. Tracey Thorn | |
12 | No More Tangles 6:09 | |
13 | Geraldine 6:22 | |
14 | Outro 0:30 |
#11 | / | Rough Trade |
#17 | / | Clash |
#21 | / | musicOMH |
#23 | / | MOJO |
#25 | / | Uncut |
#25 | / | Under the Radar |
#27 | / | Time Out London |
#29 | / | Q Magazine |
#30 | / | The Skinny |
#32 | / | No Ripcord |