June 16, 2005
Antony and the Johnsons
I'd like to talk about an album if I may. I haven't done many "album reviews" here because they are a matter of taste and what I like is probably not what you like. However, there are albums that come along that take you in unexpected directions and make you want to share the knowledge. Antony and the Johnsons I Am a Bird Now is one of those albums.
If I were really cool, I'd say something like "this album dropped a couple months ago"... but I'm not cool so I'll try to keep the jargon down. This album is unlike anything else you have heard, I promise. Antony is a man from New York who is usually in drag and supposedly puts on quite a show on stage. His voice is something I cannot begin to describe but I imagine some people will simply not be able to get past it. Its a high pitched, warbly voice that is full of melodrama, but necessary melodrama. If you can get past the voice you will find I Am a Bird Now to have some of the most beautiful music made this decade. The songcraft leans toward old soul ballads with the piano being the most prominent instrument. The lyrics are full of passion, that must come straight from Antony's own experiences as a gay man in the new millenium - if not, he has honed his character very well.
There are unexpected cameos on the album with Lou Reed, Rufus Wainright, and Devendra Banhart lending a hand on three songs as well as Boy George singing a most beautiful duet entitled You Are My Sister. And this song encapsulates this album well. On the one hand, a duet with Boy George with that title might seem funny and a toungue-in-cheek approach to such soulful music but there is no humor present on the surface of these songs, these are the yearnings of a very emotional and dramatic man who has figured out how to turn those yearnings into art.
Its a gift that most of us do not have and it is always a gift that should be experienced even if for one listen.
Posted by dmason at June 16, 2005 10:51 AM