I've been listening to alot of Antony and the Johnsons recently, its some of the most affecting, dramatic, weird yet plainly beautiful music i've ever heard. I decided to dive straight into their supposed magnum opus, 2005's I Am a Bird Now, and while it struck me initially as a difficult album (as all rewarding albums generally are), what got me straight away was Antony's voice. That voice that every critic mentions when they review an album of his. And it's worthy of the praise. His is probably one of the most unique voices in music ever, Nina Simone-esque in its depth and drama, capable of soaring through multiple octaves yet with a trembling vibrato the High Priestess of Soul herself would be proud of. Its so honest and yet with this aura of ambivalence and androgyny, it always evokes the image of some weeping Greek goddess stricken by tragedy in my mind.
With that voice, he could be singing about bubble tea and still sound painfully beautiful. Of course, his lyrics are about much deeper and weirder stuff. From breast amputation to gender change, he does sing about some strange stuff. But its all part of this album's draw and mystique. You can tell these themes of transformation, relationships and loss are real and personal to him. Right up until the climactic closer, Bird Guhl, where he finally takes flight as he sings "I'm a bird girl and bird girls go to heaven, i'm a bird girl and bird girls can fly", probably leaving everything behind.
Yet for all the drawn out themes and emotion of the rest of the record, its the opener, Hope There's Someone, that seems to get me the most. Probably the song that a casual listener will most relate to, its simple lyrics of a fear of loss and loneliness are pretty affecting. Antony sounds at his most heartbreaking here, behind a piano. But the gorgeous chords suddenly turn menacing as the song climaxes ominously midway through.
The band is not just Antony himself of course. The rest of the band play more than just supporting roles, creating arrangements that complete Antony's stories, some stark and some ornate. The strings make for some especially pretty moments on the album.
On a whole, despite being difficult and tedious at times, this is a stunning album if you put in enough effort. Essential.
Hope There's Someone mp3 / video
2 comments:
charlie doesn't think you're shameless publicising this enough. don't forget, powerofpop once checked this space out!
amazing :) keep up the writing - tis good to have a passion apart from law! it will help keep you sane when crunch time comes (that aside from prayer of course)
:D
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