Album Review: Antony & The Johnsons – The Crying Light

Music | Johnny | February 20, 2009

Writing about the music of Antony Hegarty from Antony & The Johnsons is pretty damn difficult.

We concur with other reviews that the music from Antony is an acquired taste.

He definitely possesses a voice to behold, one of raw power and boldness, which can be really tremendous at times.
That is however, in our opinion, a double edged sword.

His voice takes center stage with any music involving him and more often that not, it overpowers everything else and always creates a mood of anguish and misery.

Even when he features on the disco outfit Hercules & Love Affair, his voice provides symmetry to the usual disco fare and tosses up something really unique.

With The Crying Light, he decides to be less personal as compared to the previous 2 albums, but the things we have come to expect of him remain.

His music retains its deepness, richness and is still drenched in gloom.

We love his music to bits, but it is very difficult to express in words the kind of complexity it brings, with some even likening him to a modern day William Blake with the poetry he seems to create.

Listen, and maybe you can conjure something more from his music than us.

MP3 ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS – EPILEPSY IS DANCING

MP3 ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS – AEON