Antony & The Johnsons - I'm a Bird Now

Singer/songwriter/pianist Antony is one of those rare artists who, while not unprecedented, still emerges as singular. His is an an arresting vibrato and his presence is gender-anxious and confrontational in it's vulnerability. His fey yet firm poise is quivering, tension fraught, but never engulfing overwrought. Menored by Lou Reed, Boy George, Rufus Wainwrights and Devendra Barnhart, Antony presents a unique spectral sound of faded, frayed glamour. This his second album I am a Bird Now is a polished gilded productions including a bluesy purr worthy of Nina Simone in "My Lady Story" and "Fistful of Love," with it's Muscle Shoals horn blurts-meet-Weimar cabaret swoons via the Velvet Underground's shuffle. As a whole, I Am a Bird Now exhibits a downy affinity for androgynous eccentricity. Rough Trade. 2005.