Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.John Grant has the kind of resonant, reassuring voice that a hypnotist might use, or a doctor skilled at making bad news seem actually not so bad after all. The American singer-songwriter, now based in Reykjavik, compounds this manner with an ear for dreamy melodies that invite us to sink into them with relief. But he also has a persistent urge to disrupt things, sabotaging his vocals with computerised effects or ditching the dreamy melodies for rude electronic funk. We are not meant to get too comfortable.Talking to the FT back in 2010, when his solo debut Queen of Denmark was released, Grant likened songwriting to puzzle-solving. The puzzle was \u2014 and still is \u2014 linked to his childhood in a strict Methodist household. At the age of five, Grant knew he was gay, but the realisation brought him confused feelings of shame and sinfulness, and in his twenties he spiralled into addiction. \u201cI can\u2019t believe that I\u2019ve considered taking my own life\/\u2019Cause I believed the lies about me were the truth,\u201d he sang in \u201cJC Hates F*ggots\u201d, a track on Queen of Denmark.The Art of the Lie is his sixth solo studio album. Named in sarcastic tribute to Donald Trump\u2019s book The Art of the Deal, the title also refers to things he was told about his sexuality growing up. The standout track, \u201cFather\u201d, is a seven-minute reverie in which loving childhood memories are blended with anger about the \u201cbig lie\u201d of his father\u2019s religious beliefs. This complex state of mind is illustrated by the way that Grant\u2019s gentle croon is electronically double-tracked, like a shadow.Another father-themed track, \u201cDaddy\u201d, is sung from the point of view of a child worshipping his dad; a haunting reprise amid stirring passages of music indicates that this particular god has feet of clay. By contrast, \u201cMother and Son\u201d is a numbed lullaby with guest vocals by Rachel Sermanni. \u201cMeek AF\u201d widens the theme of religion into a satiric look at American theocracy, set to electronic funk. \u201cIt\u2019s a Bitch\u201d is another funk number with witty, erudite lyrics about being downcast. (Grant can be a very funny performer.)The album\u2019s main drawback is its sluggish, hour-long run time. The slow numbers are a little too unhurried; the funk ones don\u2019t inject quite enough energy into proceedings. But I find myself being drawn back to The Art of the Lie. It has the pull of an unsolved puzzle.\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606\u2018John Grant: The Art of the Lie\u2019 is released on June 14 on Bella Union<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.John Grant has the kind of resonant, reassuring voice that a hypnotist might use, or a doctor skilled at making bad news seem actually not so<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-119215","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-culture"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119215"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119215\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":119216,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119215\/revisions\/119216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}