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political Pragmatist John Grant’s sixth full-length is extraordinarily odd and very…John.

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The Art of the Lie sees Grant build on his former sounds of alt-dream pop mark Queen of Denmark in 2010 and builds on Creep Show‘s sophomore Yawning Abyss last year into yet another seismic shift into Grants’ industrial approach to song-making. The ability for this man to traverse many-a sub-genre is quite astounding. Playing it safe for the schoomzing of sales is certainly something John is afraid of, that’s for sure.

Led by the corrosive electro-acoustic instrumentations of a seemingly decaying industrial landscape, The Art of the Lie is at times, harrowingly beautiful and elusively demonic at a moments’ notice. A scathing upside-down compared to John’s lush baritone deliverance, it somewhat makes you feel at an odd-end with yourself, unsure of where to look or really.. what to feel.

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At the heart of the Lie, is really just Grant going to town on a vocoder. Funky starter All That School For Nothing, is very much that: a frontal climax of abrasive electronics. Marbles, meanwhile, takes a different approach. Dystopian in its landscape, Grant takes his opportunity here to showcase his literate lyrics in guile and unflinching honesty. It’s A Bitch is another intergalactic funky anecdote, drawling spirit from Prince‘s dazzling musicality. His most beautiful and trippy escapades are both Daddy and Father – haunting tales of John’s life as a gay man. The seedy closer of Zeitgeist is another trailblazing sound as it weans out like a once-volatile soundscape returning to its slumber.