John Grant's genius lies in the way the 55-year-old splices together humour and pain, the levity of his music and the misery of his lyrics (and sometimes vice versa). Born into an intensely religious family where he was taught that homosexuality was a fast track to hell, much of his work since has worked through the resulting anguish, creating twisted magic from the wreckage. And on his sixth solo album, The Art Of The Lie, this duality is on full display. More than ever, the record is musically divided into two halves. There are twitchy “hits” – the '80s vocoder-heavy funk of opener “All That School For Nothing” and the cheeky sway of lead single “It's A Bitch” – but they're juxtaposed directly with moments of utter catastrophe. In a heartbreaking pseudo-duet on 'Father' (singing out of tune with himself), Grant laments, “I never got to be the man you always wanted me to be.” Meanwhile, 'Daddy' is a sad, melancholic song written from a child's perspective, where he sings, “It's a sin what I am.” Naturally, the song can often be quite depressing, but just when you think he's got you hooked, Grant spits you out again with a tongue-in-cheek skit ('Twistin' Scriptures') or a witty one-liner. His take on the biblical phrase “the meek shall inherit the earth” ('You think you're one of the sheep/But you think you're a goat') on 'Meek AF' is typical. The Art Of The Lie is not an introduction to John Grant's body of work, but for those who have already bought it, it will be a deeper dive into the man's psyche.