Antony & The Johnsons

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3...according to our Clinton on Thu 07 Oct, 2010.

I really want to like Antony's stuff and for ever brilliant thing you hear, there's something equally tripe. Opener 'Everything is New' starts off lovely and simply with murmured vocals but within a few minutes he's warblin' away. It's such an acquired taste that its difficult to be subjective about it - its all dependent on how you can cope with that voice. That said this one is particularly warbly and the music is a little studied and bland for me. "One for the mums" says Phil and I'm inclined to agree, the arrangements are tasteful rather than exotic. "Ghost" is particularly impressive though with its John Cale/Michael Nyman melodies and Antony really opening up vocal wise and double tracking his voice to devastating effect. The title track 'Swanlights' is another winner - a Nico-esque drone thing with an eastern flavour and distorted droney guitars. I like the way the vocals overlap each other. This all said the devoted are gonna love it, whether it brings him any new fans I'm not sure. It doesn't cross into the mainstream nor is an amazing sonic 'Kid A' like statement, its a decent album, better when less warbly, with less piano balladry.

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· Antony And The Johnsons release their new
album, ‘Swanlights’ through Rough Trade Records.
The album includes the song ‘Flétta’, a duet with
Björk. The album and book are a continuation of
Antony’s work exploring his connection to the
natural world.

· While ‘I Am a Bird Now’ is compelling in its
vulnerability and ‘The Crying Light’ is a
masterpiece of austerity, ‘Swanlights’ may be
Antony’s most wide-rangingly emotional work to
date. It is a record that is at moments
heartbreakingly tender, and at other times has a
joyful gleam to its teeth.

· Unlike previous work, which was often quite
sparsely voiced, on ‘Swanlights’ the vines in the
garden are overgrown and the sound palette has
become more exotic; strange percussive elements,
John Cale-esque string drones, heavily distorted
guitars and symphonic winds and strings thread
the song cycle together.

· ‘Swanlights’ is the fourth Antony And The
Johnsons album and the follow up to the critically
acclaimed ‘The Crying Light’, which entered the
European Chart at #1 and was included in yearend
Best Of lists across the globe in 2009.

· Antony burst into the international spotlight with
his second album, ‘I Am A Bird Now’, which won
the UK’s prestigious Mercury Music Prize.

Tracklisting:

Everything Is New
The Great White Ocean
Ghost
I’m In Love
Violetta
Swanlights
The Spirit Was Gone
Thank You For Your Love
Flétta
Salt Silver Oxygen
Christina’s Farm

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