Album review: Antony and the Johnsons, 'Swanlights'
3 stars (out of 4)
Antony Hegarty has turned his neo-operatic warble – akin to a musical saw or theremin in its strange beauty – into the foundation of an unlikely career. With each release he remains an oracle for outsiders, blurring lines of gender and pouring out his anxieties with a directness that turns listeners into voyeurs. Doubt, despair and death hang over many of the songs like a shroud.
On “Swanlights” (Secretly Canadian), Hegarty’s fourth album under the Antony and the Johnsons moniker, the darkness lifts, and the singer sounds almost buoyant. “I’ve been touched, I’ve been touched,” he exults on “I’m in Love.” On “Thank You for Your Love,” the crooner delivers a straightforward piano ballad that verges on mawkish. As if to get the album back on balance, he follows it with “Fietta,” a quirky duet with Bjork, a kindred spirit if Hegarty ever had one. Ranging from the acoustic meditation “The Great White Ocean” to the sweeping strings of “Ghost,” the singer projects with confidence verging on light-heartedness.
In the past, Hegarty’s music sometimes sounded so fragile it could break. Now he’s almost smiling. Next up: Antony Hegarty break-dances.
greg@gregkot.com