It was with slight trepidation that I approached the music of Antony & The Johnsons. What I knew about them was limited to the fact that their six-foot plus, androgynous cape wearing lead singer Antony Hegarty sung in a falsetto giving the band a bit of a strangely engaging operatic, chamber pop sound. When I finally sat down to listen to the band’s latest album, The Crying Light,
Similarities between the two groups end there, as Antony’s music is a bit more grandiose and theatrical in sound. While I’ve really been enjoying the album, I’m not sure these guys are for everyone. With that in mind, check out the slightly NSFW and fantastically bizarre video for Epilepsy Is Dancing…
After playing at this past weekend’s Coachella Festival, Antony & The Johnsons now head over seas to for a series of dates throughout Europe this spring and into the summer. No U.S. dates have been announced yet.
2 Responses
i got into antony on his previous album “i am a bird now”. while i certainly appreciate what he does, it’s often a little too intense for me. i wonder if it points to some deep seeded gender shit i have going on or some fear of things being too severe, but i often find myself torn by wanting to be completely enveloped by his music or needing to run and hide. my wife, however, LOVES him. she has a little red ipod nano that she only uses to listen to antony – she even calls it her “antony and the johnsons” machine.
I like both of them anyways… 🙂