Antony and the
Johnsons
Virgin Music
2009
EMI Music
Antony and the Johnsons are one of the
more unusual musical experiences of recent years. Antony Hegarty’s voice is
haunting, sensitive and unearthly. At times it seems even angelic as it lifts
up the listener to great heights and at other times it is pained and full of
deep and angst ridden emotion. He truly uses his voice as an instrument and has
quite an astounding range, though with an unusual sound.
The lyrical quality of all their albums
are also just as impressive, covering a range of significant issues. I Am a
Bird Now was a powerfully exploration of the diversity of both sexuality and
gender while The Crying Light seems to focus more on environmental issues.
However, this is a album different in
sound from earlier releases, it is carefully textured and at times borders on
classical, it allows the vocals to stand alone with minimal accompaniment
primarily using piano and an orchestra as a background.
There are some more mainstream sounding
tracks such as Epilepsy Is Dancing but generally this is a sombre even
melancholic album, not surprising it is reflecting on the state of the world
and man’s place within it. But don’t let that put you off, there is immense
beauty in this album and poetry in its lyrics, the more you play it, the more
you will find it a truly moving experience.
This review will appear in Volume 2:1
(2009) of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.
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