I just want to quickly reiterate that I realize no one really wants to read long reviews of albums. That’s why I’m going to include a very quick one or two sentence review at the beginning of any review posts. I’ll try to convey whether or not the album is worth your time as succinctly as I can. Then, my full review will follow.
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Quick Review: A haunting, dreadfully sad album. Beautiful, but perhaps best saved for a contemplative, existential mood. Anyone who’s a fan of gorgeous music by artists with unique voices will like this. Joanna Newsom fans come quickly to mind. Or (obviously), anyone who likes previous Antony recordings.
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Antony and the Johnsons’ first album since 2005′s I Am A Bird Now is not a huge departure from his previous work. The Crying Light, however, is a very big step for Antony. Of course (like its predecessor) it is a good album. Antony’s voice is so strange, so beautiful, so alienating, that anything he sings is worth listening to. An album of him doing late 90s Jessica Simpson covers over ringtone tracks would be interesting (actually, that might be pretty cool). So it’s difficult to temper a review of an Antony album without just saying how great his voice is.
The Crying Light is decidedly more somber as a whole than previous albums. The songs seem like the feverish, gorgeous last thoughts of a person slipping off into death, or in Antony’s words, into another world. The chords don’t resolve as easily as they did on tracks like “I Fell In Love With A Dead Boy” from I Am A Bird Now. One thing decidedly different on this latest effort is that the production is much tighter, almost constricted. With the several listens I’ve given the album so far, I can’t decide if his songwriting is maturing, or if he’s holding back just a bit too much. For example, if you listen to the strings on the track “Kiss My Name,” they seem restrained. I think the track might have benefited more from letting them lose, allowing them to be a bit more rugged and celebratory. This is a problem that I see over and over on the album. However, this control makes sense if the album is understood as a whole.
The Crying Light is almost too brief. The entire thing clocks in under forty minutes. It’s as if Antony decided to write a novella instead of a whole book. But this brevity allows for a complete exploration of an idea. The song themes are similar to previous works’, but this time the focus is on an imagined future, one that leaves the present behind. Antony’s constant pleas to visit other worlds brilliantly personify his other-worldly voice, as well as his transgendered persona. This works particularly well on the stunning track “Another World.” While he’s singing about moving on to a different world, he names all of the things he’ll miss from this world. Just as he’s about to leave everything behind, he realizes how beautiful this world is. He’s going to a better place, but the song is heartbreaking because he knows there are beautiful things and people here, too. Like straddling two genders, this album straddles the tragedy and the beauty between what is here and what is there. It’s a true work of unbelonging and longing for something better. The brevity and control of all the tracks become the album’s strongest suit, allowing this message to shine through. It really touches deep places in the soul.
Other than “Another World,” there are a few stand-out tracks worth touching on. “Daylight and the Sun” is the seventh and longest song on The Crying Light, and the natural climax of the ten tracks (eleven if you manage to get your hands on the bonus song). It’s a mini-symphony with constantly moving parts. It’s the type of song that you can hear differently with each listen- dark and very beautiful. “Aeon” sounds the most like Antony on previous albums, and it’s an uplifting love song that keeps the album moving along. The final two tracks, “Water and Dust” and “Everglade” seem to be a pair, and have an incredibly spiritual, religious feel. A very fitting end. Really, the entire thing picks up with the back-half of the album. “One Dove” is a bit lackluster, almost too dreary without going anywhere, and is probably my greatest complaint with The Crying Light.
Overall, a beautiful album that will stay with me for awhile. I predict, however, that this isn’t Antony’s masterpiece. I think he’s capable of producing better work, and can’t wait to hear what he does next. You can see Antony live on February 19th and 20th at Town Hall.
I am a great fan of Antony and i just came across this review today. I agree with most of what I read. Antony’s style is always difficult to judge, but always great to listen to, specially when in a darker mood. The rhythmic part does seem sometimes like it never actually goes full throttle. I wonder why?
If you have time, check my blog. It’s also about alternative music from a more European perspective I guess.
Look forward to coming back here. A lot of good things being done in the States never reach the European market and vice versa!
Thanks so much! Yeah, Antony is pretty great. I’d love to check out your blog. What is the address?