Antony and the Johnsons

I Am a Bird Now

Released 01-FEB-2005

#7

Lead singer Antony of Antony and the Johnson’s is a remarkable fellow. Fashioning himself, I suppose, as a more artsy and grounded Boy George, which is to say a thoughtfully whispy yet bold craftsman with a voice you have to hear to believe, Antony is an anomaly in the world of pop music. Listening to his second full-length album, I Am a Bird Now, I am hard pressed to find another recent disc that is anything like this or a performer who is even close to accomplishing what Antony achieves here.

I suppose rather than compare, with Antony it is best to embrace, as he himself has done by inviting a host of great and famous musicians on his four album duets: What I Can I Do (with Rufus Wainwright), You Are My Sister (with Boy George), Spiraling (with Devendra Banhart), and the quintessential gay break-up song, or I could only imagine, Fistful of Love (with the great one himself, Lou Reed). The disc is certainly not for everyone as its bread and butter is a gentle piano accompanied by Antony’s bittersweet warble. But beyond the simplicity of the majority of the songs is an elegance that few can manage save the most classy of dames or the most sincere of drag queens. Which category Antony falls into, I have no idea, but the music is pretty damn good and the message is as sweet as it is sincere.

Take You Are My Sister, for example, the song which features Boy George. A duet starring a sexually ambiguous crooner with his sexually ambiguous 45 year old hero and inspiration could go one of two ways: it could be a campy atrocity featuring two dudes singing about being one another’s sisters; or it could be a touching and inspirational ode to finding one’s self through the help of a role model. One listen to this tune and I believe you can judge Antony for all that he is and hopes to be. I choose to see his performance not as schtick, as Boy George and Culture Club often came across in their heyday, but rather, as a true statement and evolution of sexual ambiguity coming to light in a mature and sometimes heartbreaking fashion.

My favorite songs on the disc are You Are My Sister, Bird Guhl, and perhaps the most different song on the disc, Fistful of Love. Love features an opening poem by Lou Reed in his signature monotone delivery, full length noodling guitar work by Reed that hasn’t sounded this fresh on any of his own discs in a decade or more, and Antony’s warbling, crescendo pleas over cascading piano chords. For fans of Reed or people looking for something different, it is quite amazing how Antony shines with such a powerhouse like Reed while never stepping on his toes or shrinking into the background. It is likewise a testament to his skill as a songwriter and performer that he can bring out the good in a consummate artist such as Reed who is often hit or miss, as well as the host of others who truly shine in Antony’s company.

Beyond the look, the sound, and even the idea of Antony and the Johnsons, perhaps the strangest and most mind-boggling occurrence regarding this group happened a couple months ago in England. Shocking the British music industry, Antony and the Johnsons took home the prestigious Mercury Music Prize beating out such British and international powerhouses as The Kaiser Chiefs, The Go! Team, and Coldplay. Yes, Coldplay! And on the heals of that victory, Antony’s six foot four, pudgy androgenous mug found its way onto the cover of the Boston Metro a couple days before their concert here in Boston. Now I may not be a big fan of Coldplay, but I would think if the British press can give them a nod over those hitmakers, and the Boston Metro can feature Antony on its cover, then you could give them as shot as well because, if nothing else, I doubt you’ve known anything or anyone quite like Antony before. And after just one listen, I doubt you ever will.