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Antony and the Johnsons' second full-length recording, the haunting and affecting I Am a Bird Now, is a far more intimate affair than their debut. Antony's bluesy parlor room cadence is more upfront here, resulting in a listening experience that's both exhilarating and disquieting. "Hope There's Someone" is a somber opener, and its plea for companionship, augmented by a sparse piano/vocal arrangement that rises into the air by song's end in a swirl of multi-tracked harmonies, is ultimately uplifting. This formula is applied to much of the record and never ceases to elicit honest emotion from either Antony or his numerous guests. Rufus Wainwright takes the lead on "What Can I Do?," a languid meditation on death that conjures up images of rainy streets, lonely lampposts, and cigar smoke -- it's brief (under two minutes) but alluring like the cover of a Raymond Chandler novel. Boy George joins Antony for a duet on the soulful and empowering "You Are My Sister," Devendra Banhart lends his warbly tenor to the lush "Spiraling," and Lou Reed plays noodly guitar and recites an anonymous poem on the mischievous "Fistful of Love." It's a testament to Antony's skill as a writer and arranger that these guest appearances are completely devoid of pretense, and while each artist is reverent to the source material, it's still Antony's show, as the most powerful moments on I Am a Bird Now are his.
© James Christopher Monger /TiVo
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Julia Kent, StudioMusician - Paul Shapiro, StudioMusician - Maxim Moston, StudioMusician - Doug Wieselman, StudioMusician - Joan Wasser, StudioMusician - Antony Hegarty, Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - ASCAP, MusicPublisher - antony and The Johnsons, MainArtist - ANOHNI, MainArtist - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Rebis Music Kobalt, MusicPublisher - Jeff Langston, StudioMusician - Todd Cohen, StudioMusician
2004 Rough Trade Records Ltd 2004 Secretly Canadian under exclusive license to Rough Trade Records Ltd
Julia Kent, StudioMusician - Paul Shapiro, StudioMusician - Maxim Moston, StudioMusician - Doug Wieselman, StudioMusician - Joan Wasser, StudioMusician - Danielle Farina, StudioMusician - Antony Hegarty, Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - ASCAP, MusicPublisher - antony and The Johnsons, MainArtist - ANOHNI, MainArtist - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Rebis Music Kobalt, MusicPublisher - Jeff Langston, StudioMusician - Todd Cohen, StudioMusician
2004 Rough Trade Records Ltd 2004 Secretly Canadian under exclusive license to Rough Trade Records Ltd
Julia Kent, StudioMusician - Paul Shapiro, StudioMusician - Maxim Moston, StudioMusician - Doug Wieselman, StudioMusician - Joan Wasser, StudioMusician - Antony Hegarty, Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - ASCAP, MusicPublisher - antony and The Johnsons, MainArtist - ANOHNI, MainArtist - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Rebis Music Kobalt, MusicPublisher - Jeff Langston, StudioMusician - Todd Cohen, StudioMusician
2004 Rough Trade Records Ltd 2004 Secretly Canadian under exclusive license to Rough Trade Records Ltd
Julia Kent, StudioMusician - Paul Shapiro, StudioMusician - Maxim Moston, StudioMusician - Doug Wieselman, StudioMusician - Joan Wasser, StudioMusician - Antony Hegarty, Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - ASCAP, MusicPublisher - antony and The Johnsons, MainArtist - ANOHNI, MainArtist - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Rebis Music Kobalt, MusicPublisher - Jeff Langston, StudioMusician - Todd Cohen, StudioMusician
2004 Rough Trade Records Ltd 2004 Secretly Canadian under exclusive license to Rough Trade Records Ltd
Julia Kent, StudioMusician - Paul Shapiro, StudioMusician - Devendra Banhart, AssociatedPerformer - Boy George, AssociatedPerformer - Maxim Moston, StudioMusician - Doug Wieselman, StudioMusician - Joan Wasser, StudioMusician - Antony Hegarty, Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - ASCAP, MusicPublisher - antony and The Johnsons, MainArtist - ANOHNI, MainArtist - John Bollinger, StudioMusician - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Rebis Music Kobalt, MusicPublisher - Jeff Langston, StudioMusician - Todd Cohen, StudioMusician
2004 Rough Trade Records Ltd 2004 Secretly Canadian under exclusive license to Rough Trade Records Ltd
Julia Kent, StudioMusician - Paul Shapiro, StudioMusician - Jason Hart, StudioMusician - Maxim Moston, StudioMusician - Rufus Wainwright, AssociatedPerformer - Doug Wieselman, StudioMusician - Joan Wasser, StudioMusician - Antony Hegarty, Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - ASCAP, MusicPublisher - antony and The Johnsons, MainArtist - ANOHNI, MainArtist - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Rebis Music Kobalt, MusicPublisher - Jeff Langston, StudioMusician - Todd Cohen, StudioMusician
2004 Rough Trade Records Ltd 2004 Secretly Canadian under exclusive license to Rough Trade Records Ltd
Julia Kent, StudioMusician - Paul Shapiro, StudioMusician - Lou Reed, AssociatedPerformer - Maxim Moston, StudioMusician - Doug Wieselman, StudioMusician - Joan Wasser, StudioMusician - Antony Hegarty, Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - ASCAP, MusicPublisher - antony and The Johnsons, MainArtist - Rainy Orteca, StudioMusician - Parker Kindred, StudioMusician - ANOHNI, MainArtist - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Rebis Music Kobalt, MusicPublisher - Jeff Langston, StudioMusician - Todd Cohen, StudioMusician
2004 Rough Trade Records Ltd 2004 Secretly Canadian under exclusive license to Rough Trade Records Ltd
Julia Kent, StudioMusician - Paul Shapiro, StudioMusician - Devendra Banhart, AssociatedPerformer - Maxim Moston, StudioMusician - Doug Wieselman, StudioMusician - Joan Wasser, StudioMusician - Antony Hegarty, Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - ASCAP, MusicPublisher - antony and The Johnsons, MainArtist - ANOHNI, MainArtist - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Rebis Music Kobalt, MusicPublisher - Jeff Langston, StudioMusician - Todd Cohen, StudioMusician
2004 Rough Trade Records Ltd 2004 Secretly Canadian under exclusive license to Rough Trade Records Ltd
Julia Kent, StudioMusician - Paul Shapiro, StudioMusician - Maxim Moston, StudioMusician - Doug Wieselman, StudioMusician - Joan Wasser, StudioMusician - Danielle Farina, StudioMusician - Antony Hegarty, Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - ASCAP, MusicPublisher - antony and The Johnsons, MainArtist - ANOHNI, MainArtist - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Rebis Music Kobalt, MusicPublisher - Jeff Langston, StudioMusician - Todd Cohen, StudioMusician - Julia Yasuda, StudioMusician
2004 Rough Trade Records Ltd 2004 Secretly Canadian under exclusive license to Rough Trade Records Ltd
Julia Kent, StudioMusician - Paul Shapiro, StudioMusician - Maxim Moston, StudioMusician - Doug Wieselman, StudioMusician - Joan Wasser, StudioMusician - Antony Hegarty, Producer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - ASCAP, MusicPublisher - antony and The Johnsons, MainArtist - ANOHNI, MainArtist - CMRRA, MusicPublisher - Rebis Music Kobalt, MusicPublisher - Jeff Langston, StudioMusician - Todd Cohen, StudioMusician
2004 Rough Trade Records Ltd 2004 Secretly Canadian under exclusive license to Rough Trade Records Ltd
Album review
Antony and the Johnsons' second full-length recording, the haunting and affecting I Am a Bird Now, is a far more intimate affair than their debut. Antony's bluesy parlor room cadence is more upfront here, resulting in a listening experience that's both exhilarating and disquieting. "Hope There's Someone" is a somber opener, and its plea for companionship, augmented by a sparse piano/vocal arrangement that rises into the air by song's end in a swirl of multi-tracked harmonies, is ultimately uplifting. This formula is applied to much of the record and never ceases to elicit honest emotion from either Antony or his numerous guests. Rufus Wainwright takes the lead on "What Can I Do?," a languid meditation on death that conjures up images of rainy streets, lonely lampposts, and cigar smoke -- it's brief (under two minutes) but alluring like the cover of a Raymond Chandler novel. Boy George joins Antony for a duet on the soulful and empowering "You Are My Sister," Devendra Banhart lends his warbly tenor to the lush "Spiraling," and Lou Reed plays noodly guitar and recites an anonymous poem on the mischievous "Fistful of Love." It's a testament to Antony's skill as a writer and arranger that these guest appearances are completely devoid of pretense, and while each artist is reverent to the source material, it's still Antony's show, as the most powerful moments on I Am a Bird Now are his.
© James Christopher Monger /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 10 track(s)
- Total length: 00:35:24
- Main artists: Antony And The Johnsons ANOHNI
- Composer: ANOHNI
- Label: Rough Trade
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock Alternative & Indie
2004 Rough Trade Records Ltd 2005 Secretly Canadian under exclusive license to Rough Trade Records Ltd
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