Thank You For Your Love – Antony and the Johnsons (Buy)
Antony Hegarty’s Antony and the Johnsons know how to convey big messages with very few words. With beautiful orchestration and high-pitched vocals, Hegarty’s latest work, Swanlights, has all the innate calm and Feng Shui of his past work, but is slightly more adventurous. After winning a Mercury Prize and becoming a permanent fixture in the cabaret scene, Antony and the Johnsons have proven they make consistent, high-quality music.
Swanlights, the fourth installment in the Antony and the Johnsons saga, is just what fans should expect from the band. Though their previous work might have been slightly more emotionally rich, their latest creation still follows the age-old mantra, “less is more”. Set amongst a symphony of violins and horns, Hegarty’s voice pops out and smoothly sings the sparse lyrics that make up a good part of the album.
The record opens with “Everything is New”, a cool, uncomplicated number that features some very melodic howling from Hegarty. Like some of their earlier albums, there are elements of modern jazz present, which is likely the reason why they played at the Sydney Opera House and the Manchester Opera House back in 2009. Music like theirs is simply designed to be played in a massive concert halls with echoing acoustics.
Following smooth transitions and ghostly repetitions of the chorus from “Everything is New”, the next track, “The Great White Ocean”, shifts the tone of the album to a slower, more ballad-like mood. While many of Hegarty’s tracks such as this one speak of melancholy themes, they manage to never reek of self-pity or ask for sympathy from the listener. This album may not have all the eccentricities of Hegarty’s past work (Death and Bodily Mutations), but Swanlights may just be Anthony and the Johnsons strongest compilation yet!
