The Crying Light

Antony And The Johnsons touches upon global issues

After the unique British collective Antony And The Johnsons won a Mercury Prize for its 2005’s album I Am A Bird Now leaving Kaiser Chiefs behind, its popularity has grown even more both in the native Great Britain and the USA. The music created by these musicians lead by a completely unique personality Antony Hegarty is so wonderful and non-standard that it is hardly worth while referring it to any genre. The thing is that Antony is quite an unusual and very sensitive person unafraid to share the most secret with the whole world. Three years after I Am A Bird Now his band releases a new creation The Crying Light. If the musicians have dwelt upon the themes of an unhappy and misunderstood love and sexual self identification on the previous record the new work covers even more global issues of nature, ecology and the world’s future. It goes without saying that The Crying Light proves to be a more heart-felt album filled with heart-cries and an unbelievable force of feelings.

Each song on The Crying Light is a masterpiece in itself

The main orchestra arranger on The Crying Light is Nico Muhly whose tandem with Antony Hegarty is really successful. Due to a simple instrumental background each song on the record is a masterpiece in itself although of course the main reason for that are Antony’s vocals. The sounds of cello, fiddle, hautboy, piano and guitar unite gently and harmoniously with this trembling voice touching the very listener’s soul. The album The Crying Light is practically entirely devoted to our planet’s suffering and the opener Her Eyes Are Underneath The Ground is the most demonstrative example in this respect as it tells of Mother Nature’s death. A bit livelier but still literarily sickly composition Epilepsy Is Dancing conquers with a wonderful tune while One Dove and Kiss My Name have proved to be the most optimistic tracks on the record with a hint at a weak hope. The title song amazes from the very beginning with Antony’s vocals that manage to sound higher and more felt than the fiddles and single Another World is simply disarming with soft piano chords against which the picture of a beautiful world whose days are counted is unfold. The longest piece on the record Daylight And The Sun is sure to linger in your mind due to a most beautiful tune and no less beautiful lyrics and almost an a cappella composition Dust And Water sounds so fragile that one is only left to amaze. The album closes with a light sadness of the song Everglade refined with fabulous brass and again a lightest piano.

Antony Hegarty has accomplished his mission once again

Most probably we are now witnessing the turning of Antony Hegarty, a bit ungainly and strange guy, into a cult figure. The Crying Light is certainly going to prove no less successful than Antony And The Johnsons’ previous record and perhaps even more successful as a more serious approach to work is obvious here and the topics touched upon are sure to be significantly closer to a wider audience. Yet the main peculiarity of Hegarty’s music is not its contents but the delivery. The emotional string is maximally strained on The Crying Light and on each song the vocalist is sliding on a thin edge between crying and singing. No doubt it is just impossible to sing in a more heart-felt way. Of course this may cause the risk that someone might find these songs awfully irritating and getting on the nerves even despite the soft and unobtrusive accompaniment but this only proves that one cannot remain indifferent listening to The Crying Light. Such emotions as despair, sadness, pain, fear and a bit of hope are mixed in these pieces and are all expressed in the amazing vocals. Although the album consists of 10 songs only one wants to be alone and think after each of them so Antony Hegarty has surely accomplished his mission once again.