With his new album Boy From Michigan due for release on June 25 via Bella Union, and having previously shared the tracks The Only Baby, Boy From Michigan and Rhetorical Figure, John Grant today shares a video for Billy, the closing track on the LP.
On the song, Grant decries the all too prevalent culture of hyper-machismo, one which fashions us all for failure. He explains: “Billy is a song about how many men destroy themselves trying to live up to stereotypes of masculinity and how this manifests in countless ways.”
The part-animated video, directed by regular collaborators Casey and Ewan, features the eponymous Billy of the title and was shot in both Reykjavik (John) and Denver (Billy).
Grant’s new album was produced by musician Cate Le Bon, and he says they created it against a backdrop of stressful things occurring in the world.
“Cate and I are both very strong-willed people”, says Grant. “Making a record is hard on a good day. The mounting stress of the US election and the pandemic really started to get to us by late July and August last year. It was at times a very stressful process under the circumstances, but one which was also full of many incredible and joyful moments.”
Tale a look at the new video.
OIP Staff Image: Hörður Sveinsson
