The Czars
Goodbye

The Czars hail from Denver, but listening to their music with memory one can't help but be taken to the foggy London atmospheres, through nocturnal streets where the rain seems never to stop falling, and our souls get lost and despair in search of an eternal abandonment.

It is not the ethereal and sublime voice of Elizabeth Frazer that accompanies these fascinating musical melodies, but the warm and enveloping voice of John Grant, vocalist and author of almost all the songs of the Czars. The band shares quite a bit with the Scottish Cocteau Twins: it was, in fact, thanks to the interest of Simon Raymonde, bassist of the Cocteau Twins, that they got the production chance for their first album, "Before... But Longer", in 1998 for the London label Bella Union, but which saw the light (at least in Europe) only in 2000, due to some misunderstandings precisely with Raymonde who expected a more "American" sound. Then followed the valid "The Ugly People vs. Beautiful People" in 2001, up to this "Goodbye" in 2004, prophetic from the title, as just a few months after the album's release, the band almost dissolved, leaving the only guiding light in Grant himself, now surrounded by session musicians who contribute to maintain, besides the name, the sparkling musical notes.

The songs of this album are little jewels set in the crown of poems composed by other "heroes" such as Nick Drake, Tim or Jeff (take your pick) Buckley, where sweet acoustic notes mix with influences of various kinds.
The range goes from the sad delicacy of the piano in the "Intro" to the title track ("Goodbye goodbye goodbye - I love to see you fade and die - I love to see you kicking, screaming as you try to reach the sky") to the progressive atmospheres reminiscent of Porcupine Tree in "I Am The Man", where there is an air of redemption ("I’m not just a man - I am the man you can’t have - I need something else - You are the one who can’t help"), or to the Tex-Mex notes à la Calexico of "Paint The Moon", to the melancholic, poignant gypsy violins of "L.O.S." ("I want you to remember me - For things I never did - ‘Cause none in this world deserves - To see my happiness") or to the smoky jazz blues air of "Little Pink House" and "I Saw A Ship". In short, there are no misplaced pieces in this album that deserves to be listened to from start to finish, which concludes with a powerful piece like "Pain", pouring out all the anger in one go ("And if you think you need more pain - You can get all that you need - You can get it all for free - Just keep doing what you are").

Hoping that John Grant's creativity continues to flourish and dispense tracks of the same stature, while waiting for a worthy successor to "Goodbye", it is worth mentioning the release of "Sorry I Made You Cry", an interesting collection of covers, some new, many already published as b-sides, from which I recommend two gems like "My Funny Valentine" and "Song To The Siren".