The Crying Light

Tuesday was an interesting day, what with the inauguration of Barack Obama as the nation's first African American President, and the release of Antony & the Johnson's second cd, The Crying Light. Needless to say, I was extremely excited for both.

Although I have listened to the cd several times, I am still trying to get my arms around it. Unlike I Am A Bird Now, The Crying Light is not as immediate and bracing. It is a more subtle record, unfolding slowly and most times very softly. Both share similiarities, notably the impeccable musical arrangements, Antony's one-of-a-kind vibrato tenor (sounding more and more like a bastard child of Bryan Ferry and Scott Walker), and the stark black and white photo for the cover.

The differences are subtle but telling. I Am A Bird Now was from a band making a "statement" and making their mark. The cd had several songs that I would definitely say are some of my favorite songs ever written: "Hope There's Someone," "You Are My Sister," and "Man Is The Baby." The themes were more individual and insular, regarding personal pain, and gender and sexual confusion. Furthermore, the cd was populated with guest vocalists that ranged from being painfully self aware (Lou Reed), mercifully brief (Rufus Wainwright), to transcendant (shockingly Boy George on the aforementioned "You Are My Sister"). Overall, I Am A Bird Now, which is close to perfect, just missed the mark due to these missteps and some bad pacing.

The Crying Light is from a band that doesn't need to make any statements of purpose. They have the accolades and can now focus on making beautiful music. And indeed they have. I will admit I was less than pleased the first time I listened; there was no brilliant standout like "Hope There's Someone." Instead, the cd has to be listened to as a whole, and not just the indivudual parts. There are no standout songs; each song has a place and forms the entire listening experience. Gone are the superfluous guest vocalists and some of the more over the top orchestrations. It is a meditative album, full of quiet pianos and lilting strings. The preoccupation this time is on the connection between human beings and nature. Almost every song contains references to the earth, soil, sun, wind and rain. How it feeds us, nurtures us, and eventually buries us.

My favorite two songs are some of the most quiet and haunting songs on the album. "Another World" is just Antony and his plaintive piano with some atmospheric woodwinds adding texture and counterpoint. There are multiple meanings to the song, it could be a dying man cataloging the beautiful things in the world he will miss when he passes to the next world, or a man contemplating suicide, to even a person viewing man's destruction of the world. The lyrics are simple and poignant, "I need another world, this one is nearly gone/Still have too many dreams, never seen the light/I need another world, a place where I can go." The final song "Everglade" is a quietly building song that kills me everytime I hear it. His voice soars over the undulating strings and woodwinds singing of a return to nature and how he feels at home again, "Fingers kiss the string/mouth tastes the blade/of everglade."

I understand that Antony is not going to be universally liked and that his voice, as gorgeous as it is, can take some time and persistence to enjoy. Furthermore, it can be said that his music is overly morbid, depressing, and sad. But I find that, though his themes are generally darker than the majority of people, there is a underlying sense of collective optimism, that these are things we experience and that there is nothing out there to fear.