The Crying Light

Antony and the Johnsons - The Crying Light

The Crying Light
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Music CD Cover

Artist: Antony and the Johnsons
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2009-01-20
Music Label: Secretly Canadian
Soundtracks:
  1. Her Eyes Are Underneath The Ground
  2. Epilepsy Is Dancing
  3. One Dove
  4. Kiss My Name
  5. The Crying Light
  6. Another World
  7. Daylight And The Sun
  8. Aeon
  9. Dust And Water
  10. Everglade

Free Music Notes for The Crying Light

Free Music Review: AVANT-POP FOR THE SOUL
Hit: 5 Stars

It is very difficult to review an opus like THE CRYING LIGHT. Words often fail us in front of such beauty and compositional skills. In front of THAT voice and THOSE words. One thing is certain though: Antony's new album is one of the most important records of the year, and one that has already taken our hearts in its tender clutch.

Here is a track-by-track commentary:

.HER EYES ARE UNDERNEATH THE GROUND.
The album opens with this sweetly tense ballad where piano, voice and a very understated string arrangement intertwine to mark the beginning of the journey. A sense of awe pervades both singer and listener, while the coda of whirring strings summons a womb-like atmosphere. Alea iacta est. You cannot go back now.

.EPILEPSY IS DANCING.
An abrupt shift into adulthood and illness. The music gently swings to a waltzing tempo guided by cellos and acoustic guitars. The sudden changes in mood are very moving and precipitate the dramatic/ecstatc ending of the song.

.ONE DOVE.
A gospel-jazz, nocturnal ballad, where piano, voice and perfectly poised horns create a shivering mood. Antony's mood is a filigree of sculpted syllables that displays immense power via subtraction. And yes, doves do indeed die.

.KISS MY NAME.
The only song driven by a graceful, shuffling rhythm, mixing a tarantella-flecked soul feel with a subtly swirling string arrangement. The poppiest, most radio-friendly moment, but heartbreak is around the corner.

.THE CRYING LIGHT.
A deeply spiritual, imposing song. Nature and Man facing each other, the possibiity of love and acceptance becoming real. Voice, piano and handclaps build up a psychedelic soul mood.

.ANOTHER WORLD.
One of the sparsest tracks, where a slow brook of piano notes underpins the vocal and some guitar feedback. People started talking about THE CRYING LIGHT being an ecology-themed work when this was released as a single. A rather superficial explanation, in our opinion, as the song could just as well be a farewell letter from a dying man.

.DAYLIGHT AND THE SUN.
A vast composition full of orchestral surges and a gospel-inflected invocation. Definitely the centrepiece of the work, it effortlessly marries NINA SIMONE to STRANDED-era ROXY MUSIC (think SUNSET) ending in a calmer coda that sounds at times like a beatless version of HYMN OF THE BIG WHEEL by MASSIVE ATTACK.

.AEON.
The torrid soul track. Over an OTIS REDDING guitar pattern, voice and horns engage in their Battle of Restraint, creating an atmosphere that is pristine and intoxicating at the same time. The Fire of Love and the River of Time melt into this stunning East/West spiritual connection.

.DUST AND WATER.
The sparsest, shortest track, consisting of just a drone and a delicious Afro melody that brings to mind COME YE by NINA SIMONE. A moment of relative calm, but still a deep meditation on human destiny.

.EVERGLADE.
The album closes with one of Antony's most perfect creations. A ballad for voice and orchestra with a strong Tin Pan Alley feel, it simply manages to devastate you in less than three minutes. It has been described by its author as a vision of Paradise, and you can only agree: its alternation of longing and joy reaches such dizzy heights that you will gasp from the deepest corner of your soul. One question remains: is EVERGLADE the new OVER THE RAINBOW?

Enjoy.

The Crying Light Poster

The follow-up to "I Am A Bird Now" shifts thematic focus and explores Antony's relationship with the natural world. The intimacy of the Johnsons' sound is enveloped by avant-classical composer Nico Muhly's symphonic arrangements.

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