ALBUM REVIEWS
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ALBUM REVIEWS |
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Anthony and the Johnsons
YOU ARE MY SISTER ROUGH TRADE RECORDS 21.11.05 @www.vanguard-online.co.uk Ever since Bob Dylan’s 1975 hit “Oh Sister”, females of the sororal variety have had a habit of being the subject of great pop songs. “You are my Sister”, the latest single from Mercury music prize-winning artist Antony and the Johnsons, has a haunting, elegiac quality marked by the singer’s deeply original and creative delivery. No one looks or sounds like Antony and the Johnsons: his feminine demeanour and utterly unique voice could easily have him mistaken for an ageing and life-weary diva whose band has departed and left only a piano for her to pour out her last will and testament. The single features none other than Anthony’s boyhood hero Boy George, who, sounding better than ever, seems to have taken vocal tips from his equally androgynous singing partner. The gospel refrain with its swathes of fragile yet magically arresting melodies float with an ease that belies the song’s musical ingenuity. Three b-sides complete this latest release, taken from his award-winning album I Am A Bird. Antony controls the songs from their emotional core right to the last breath of the choruses - in a way that Jeff Buckley did so effectively - and he sings of heartbreak, loss, and love with a yearning that is undeniably beautiful. He has a wisdom and an authority not only in his lyrics, but in the epic and expansive arrangements which dare you not to leave whatever you are doing and to listen with an aching heart – not for your own troubles, but simply at the beauty of his. His songs are modern but carry a musical weight which echoes a song writing tradition of 60s and 70s troubadours, from Dylan’s love-sick ballads, to Cat Stevens’ delicate and heart-rending musings. It is daring but uncomplicated, poignant but never sentimental, and truly, truly great. www.antonyandthejohnsons.com |