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Aug 28, 2018 By Christopher Roberts John Grant

John Grant is releasing a new album, Love Is Magic, on October 12 via Partisan in the U.S. (and Bella Union in the U.K.). Previously he shared its six-and-a-half-minute long title track, “Love Is Magic,” via a lyric video (it was one of our Songs of the Week), which was followed by a full-on video for “Love Is Magic” featuring lots of dogs. Now he has shared two more songs from the album: the shiny and upbeat “He’s Got His Mother’s Hips” and the ballad “Touch & Go.” The latter is a tribute to Chelsea Manning. Listen to both songs below, followed by Grant’s upcoming tour dates.

In a press release Grant says “He’s Got His Mother’s Hips” is “about a cheeseball doing all he can to get into a woman’s pants, making a total ass of himself. It’s a fun song built on disgust.”

Manning was a United States Army private who was court marshaled in 2013 and sentenced to a 35 year jail sentence for violating the espionage act by leaking classified and sensitive materials to WikiLeaks (nearly three quarters of a million documents). The material exposed civilian deaths in Iraq due a U.S. helicopter attack, among many other things. She’s also a trans woman. In January 2017 President Barack Obama commuted her sentence.

In the press release, Grant has this to say about Manning: “I was very touched by her incredible story. What kind of strength does it take to survive like that, hated by people who say she’s a pervert who doesn’t deserve to live?”

Love Is Magic is the follow-up to 2015’s Grey Tickles, Black Pressure. Grant produced the album with analogue synth expert/collector Benge and Paul Alexander of Texas band Midlake. It was mainly recorded at Benge’s MemeTune Studios in Cornwall, England.

A previous press release said the album “is a turbulent, riveting, often brutal collection that overlaps pitch black humor, fear, anxiety, and anger” and that “the instrumentation consists almost entirely of synthesizers and programming.”

Grant had this to say about the album in the previous press release: “The lyrics aren’t just the doom and gloom of the past. They’re a snapshot of everyday life - the ridiculousness, the pain, the deep longing…. Each record I make is more of an amalgamation of who I am. The more I do this, the more I trust myself, and the closer I get to making what I imagine in my head.”

Grant also had this to say about the album’s title: “Love’s a shitshow that requires work. It’s not all lollipops and rainbows and ‘67 Dodge Dart Hemis and STD’s and macaroni and cheese and John Carpenter. But nothing can distract from the fact that, in spite of it all, love is still magic.”

Also be sure to read our in-depth 2013 article on Grant, one of the most honest and personal interviews we’ve ever done.

Also read our 2015 interview with John Grant on Grey Tickles, Black Pressure.

John Grant Tour Dates:

08/16 - Birmingham, UK - Symphony Hall
08/18 - Wales, UK - Green Man Festival
08/19 - Belfast, UK - Open House Festival
08/20 - Edinburgh, UK - Edinburgh International Festival
10/26 - Reykjavik, IS - Silfurberg
10/29 - Brighton, UK - Brighton Dome
10/30 - London, UK - O2 Academy Brixton
10/31 - Bath, UK - The Forum
11/02 - Sheffield, UK - Octagon Centre
11/03 - Manchester, UK - Albert Hall, Manchester **SOLD OUT**
11/07 - Copenhagen, DK - Vega
11/08 - Oslo, NO - Sentrum Scene
11/10 - Wangels, DE - Rolling Stone Weekender
11/12 - Koln, DE - Kulturkirche
11/13 - Hamburg, DE - Kampnagel
11/14 - Berlin, DE - Astra Kulturhaus
11/16 - Rust, DE - Rolling Stone Park
11/30 - Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw
12/02 - Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall
12/03 - Montreal, QC - Fairmont Theatre
12/05 - Detroit, MI - El Club
12/06 - Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon
12/08 - Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line
12/09 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
12/11 - Denver, CO - Bluebird
12/12 - Salt Lake City, UT - State Room
12/14 - Los Angeles, CA - Lodge Room
12/15 - Santa Cruz, CA - The Catalyst - Atrium
12/16 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
12/18 - Seattle, WA - Columbia City Theatre
12/19 - Portland, OR - Star Theater
12/20 - Vancouver, BC - Imperial Vancouver

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