The Return of John Grant

Once upon a time, there was band called The Czars. And though they made incredibly and heartwrenchingly beautiful music, few people listened to them. But those who did became fans of the deepest and most intense order, and when the band broke up, it left a huge hole in their hearts that nothing could really fill… until now, that is.

John Grant, the Czars’ former frontman and possessor of one of the most beautiful baritones you’re likely to hear this side of Heaven, has just wrapped up work on his first solo album. Queen of Denmark will be released in April 2010 on Bella Union, and also features the talents of Midlake (with whom Grant has toured in the past).

If you head on over to Grant’s MySpace page, you can listen to “TC & Honeybear,” the album’s opening track. It might just be the finest ’70s AM soft-rock song you’ve never heard — and I mean that in the best way possible.