The Art of the Lie is the sixth studio album by American musician John Grant, released on June 14, 2024, through Bella Union. It received positive reviews from critics.
Critical reception
Uncut commented that Grant is "best on matters of the heart: 'Father' is a spectral journey to a lost 1970s of family intimacy and may be the most affecting song yet in a catalogue stuffed with heartbreakers". Mojo felt that "with aid of latter-day Grace Jones producer Ivor Guest, his upbeat tendencies manifest in talk box-voiced electronic funk (think Roger Troutman/Zapp) that is more flattering, particularly when matched to the singer's biting wit on 'All That School' and the MAGA-bashing 'Meek AF'".
Chris Todd of The Line of Best Fit called it "one of Grant's richest & most satisfying sounding albums thus far" on which he "embraces his love of eighties IBM/EBM music and kitchen sink gothery from the likes of Soft Cell, alongside the end-of-the-world electronica of Throbbing Gristle". DIYs Lisa Wright described The Art of the Lie as "a record musically cleaved in two" with "twitchy 'hits' – the '80s, vocoder-doused funk strut of opener 'All That School for Nothing', or the sassy wobbles of lead single 'It's a Bitch' – but they're directly juxtaposed with moments of total devastation". Reviewing the album for Clash, Luke Winstanley concluded that it is "a perfect distillation of everything one yearns for in John Grant's music; his golden baritone voice, icy electronic soundscapes, emotive balladry, sumptuous funk and phenomenal diction".
Year-end lists + Select year-end rankings for The Art of the Lie Publication/critic Accolade RankMOJO The Best Albums Of 202411Rough Trade UK Albums of the Year 202458
Track listing
Personnel
Musicians John Grant – vocals, synthesizers, keyboards, programming (all tracks); spinet (tracks 9, 10) Kurt Uenala – additional programming Dave Okumu – guitar (tracks 1–4, 9–11), Vowel solo (10) Robin Mullarkay – bass guitar (tracks 1–3, 6, 7), fretless bass guitar (4, 8–11) Ed Baden Powell – guitar (tracks 1, 2, 6, 7) Robert Logan – synthesizers (tracks 1, 2, 6, 11), programming (6), "cut ups" (7) Sebastian Rochford – drum kit (tracks 1, 2, 8, 9), live drum machine (6) Robin Simon – reverse guitar (track 1), guitar (3) Charles Stuart – synthesizers (track 1) Ivor Guest – programming (tracks 1, 2, 6, 7), synthesizers (1, 6) Benge – modular synthesis (tracks 1, 2, 8, 11) Don-e Mclean – talk box (tracks 1, 6), stabs (7) Sarah Douglas – chatting (track 1) Leo Abrahams – acoustic guitar (track 3), guitars (8, 9), synthesizers (8), spinet (9, 10) Adam Blake – acoustic guitar (tracks 4, 10) Rachel Sermanni – chorus vocals (track 4)
Technical Ivor Guest – production, mixing, additional ProTools, additional engineering Matt Colton – mastering Cameron Craig – mixing (all tracks), engineering (tracks 1–3, 6–10) Benge – engineering (track 11); additional ProTools, additional engineering (all tracks) Dave Watson – additional ProTools, additional engineering James Watson – additional ProTools, additional engineering Leo Abrahams – additional ProTools, additional engineering Luke Glazewski – engineering assistance Kurt Uenala – computer engineering (tracks 1–3, 6–10) Samur Khouja – main vocal engineering, vocal sample engineering (track 7)
Visuals Drinkwater Studio – artwork Al Jackson – render
Charts + Chart performance for The Art of the Lie Chart (2024) Peakposition
References