Queen of Denmark (album)

Queen of Denmark is the debut solo album by former The Czars frontman John Grant, released on April 19, 2010 on the Bella Union label.[1] Queen of Denmark is a collaboration between Grant and American folk rock band Midlake and produced by Grant himself in collaboration with Midlake members Paul Alexander and Eric Pulido. It was recorded over two four-months periods, July to October 2008 and May to July 2009, in Midlake's recording studio in Denton, Texas.[2]

Queen of Denmark
Studio album by
John Grant
ReleasedApril 19, 2010
RecordedJuly–October 2008 and May–July 2009 in Denton, Texas
GenreIndie folk, soft rock
Length51:16
LabelBella Union
ProducerPaul Alexander, Eric Pulido and John Grant
John Grant chronology
Queen of Denmark
(2010)		 Pale Green Ghosts
(2013)

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.0/10[3]
Metacritic75/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Financial Times[6]
The Guardian[7]
The Independent[8]
The Irish Times[9]
Mojo[2]
NME8/10[10]
Q[11]
The Sunday Times[12]
Uncut[13]

In the May 2010 issue of Mojo, the album received the seldom-awarded Instant Classic label. Following Joanna Newsom's Have One On Me, it is the second album to receive this honor since Fleet Foxes' self-titled debut in 2008. The reviewer wrote: "If Queen of Denmark were only comprised of ... self-lacerating ballads it would still be a work of transcendent beauty, but the second half of the album finds Grant confronting romantic loss with astonishing depth of feeling."[2] In December, the magazine selected Queen of Denmark as its choice for the Best Album of 2010.[14]

The BBC Music review website described the album as "One of the most deeply satisfying debut albums of recent times", and concluded: "Queen of Denmark transcends the sum of its influences by concentrating on the irresistible appeal of sad yet optimistic love songs, classy arrangements and a dark and handsome croon. Midlake’s only mistake is making John Grant’s startling debut better than their own records."[15]

Mark Edwards wrote in The Sunday Times, "One listen to 'Where Dreams Go to Die', for example, and you’ll realise that while Grant can’t attain perfection in his actual life, he gets pretty close in his art."[12]

The Guardian reviewer wrote that "after descending into a personal hell of booze, drugs and giving up music for waiting tables, the Coloradan [John Grant] has emerged with a colossus. Backed by superfans Midlake, these are songs of impossible love, near-suicide and redemption, with an air of vastness and contemplation recalling Dennis Wilson's masterpiece, Pacific Ocean Blue."[7]

In The Independent, Andy Gill wrote of the album: "a near-perfect marriage of his warm baritone with their lush woodwind and keyboard textures, bring to tender life Grant's tales of growing up gay in the midwest."[8]

Irish musician Sinéad O'Connor covered the track "Queen of Denmark" on her 2012 album How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?.

The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[16]

Track listing

All tracks are written by John Grant.

No.TitleLength
1."TC and Honeybear"5:04
2."Marz"3:56
3."Where Dreams Go to Die"6:02
4."Sigourney Weaver"3:29
5."Chicken Bones"3:36
6."Silver Platter Club"4:09
7."It's Easier"4:36
8."Outer Space"3:13
9."Jesus Hates Faggots"3:46
10."Caramel"3:33
11."Leopard & Lamb"4:39
12."Queen of Denmark"4:47
Total length:51:16
Limited Edition bonus disc
No.TitleLength
1."That’s the Good News"4:12
2."Supernatural Defibrillator"2:51
3."Fireflies"3:41
4."What Time?"7:52
Total length:18:48

Personnel

Midlake

Additional musicians

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[17] Silver 60,000

sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

References
  1. Queen of Denmark Archived July 2, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Bella Union, April 19, 2010. Retrieved April 29, 2010
  2. Male, Andrew (May 2010). "Redemption songs". Mojo (198): 90–92.
  3. "Queen Of Denmark by John Grant reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  4. "Reviews for Queen of Denmark by John Grant". Metacritic. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  5. Leahey, Andrew. "Queen of Denmark – John Grant". AllMusic. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
  6. Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (April 24, 2010). "John Grant: Queen of Denmark". Financial Times. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  7. Simpson, Dave (April 22, 2010). "John Grant: Queen of Denmark". The Guardian. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
  8. Gill, Andy (April 6, 2010). "John Grant with Midlake, Queen of Denmark". The Independent. Archived from the original on April 22, 2010. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
  9. Carroll, Jim (April 2, 2010). "John Grant". The Irish Times. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  10. Harris, Tessa (April 16, 2010). "Album review: John Grant – 'The Queen Of Denmark' (Bella Union)". NME. Archived from the original on April 23, 2010. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
  11. "John Grant: Queen of Denmark". Q. 2010. An album of strength and beauty.
  12. Edwards, Mark (April 18, 2010). "John Grant: Queen of Denmark". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
  13. "John Grant: Queen of Denmark". Uncut: 90. 2010. [Grant is] a painfully honest writer, able to render discomfiture in songs with the sweetness of nursery rhymes.
  14. "John Grant getting his sad mojo working". Toronto Star, December 3, 2010.
  15. Mulholland, Garry (April 15, 2010). "Queen of Denmark review". BBC. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
  16. Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (2014). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 0-7893-2074-6.
  17. "British album certifications – John Grant – Queen of Denmark". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 8, 2020. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Queen of Denmark in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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