Another World

That's the awesome cover art for the newest Antony & The Johnsons EP Another World (Secretly Canadian), released about a month ago. It's five songs seem like they're ready to be performed at a half-way upscale bar as businessmen sip their drinks, unaware why the music they're hearing is so eerie. Little do they know, the pianist is actually a man, not a sensually serenading songstress. Antony's voice is one of the most recognizable in today's music. It's difficult to put into words how he can make such sounds while remaining successful and producing quality recordings. "Shake That Devil" is the highlight, ranging from the piano + sustained feedback sound of the first half backing his extra-terrestrial voice to the Bop which follows as the song makes the turn towards big-band horns and surfer dude drums at the end. When Antony gets upbeat, his songwriting really shows. You forget he's this seemingly troubled cross-dresser and remember he's a positively genius crafter of song. Another example is "Fistful of Love" from I Am a Bird Now:



"Sing For Me" is next; light, short, and sweet, staying away from the overly dark tones of much of his material I'm familiar with. I'm not sure how much, if any, of this will appear on his new record The Crying Light, apparently set to be released January 21 (my brother's birthday..). We'll see how accurate that is.

P.S. It's truly confusing watching videos of him (this is from some BBC Session). On the one hand, I'm endlessly jealous that I'll never be able to sing that way. On the other hand, I'm shocked that a human can make those sounds. It's awkward seeing video of him singing, seeing such an angelic sound come from such a man, hard to watch, even, but he's hypnotic - like watching a mushroom cloud. You know thousands have died, but it's so gratifying to see it all go up.