The Crying Light
by Antony & the Johnsons

I have to say that this is probably one of the hardest reviews that I have had the pleasure to write. The layers and depth of the themes in Art and Music are so intertwined that one would not be able to do justice to it with mere words.

The Crying Light is the third studio album from Antony Hegarty and his band, there are a couple of things here, first, his voice, which is probably one of the most unique and easily recognized of this generation. The second are the lyrics and music in the record. While seemingly sparse and minimalistic, the orchestral backings and piano are really subtle or perhaps overshadowed by Antony's rich tones. But they are intricate nonetheless, in 'One Dove' the singing stops for almost a minute as strings and the woodwind take over. Conversely, 'Dust and Water' has almost no music at all, just a few notes stretched over 2:50, while Hegarty murmurs the lyrics tenderly over the expanse, like a seagull flying over a calm sea endlessly.

The songs are often sad ballads,the lyrics themselves are nearly mournful yet hauntingly beautiful, from 'Epilepsy is Dancing' - "Then I cried in the kitchen/How I'd seen your ghost witching/As a soldering Blue Line/Between my eyes" or just simply obscure "Fire kisses the floor/of the lakes and makes shadows" from 'Daylight and the Sun' . Classical composer Nico Muhly co-arranged the final track 'Everglade', the most dramatic piece of the album. Here the orchestra finally gets let loose, with crescendos of horns and strings seemingly taken from a lost symphony or soundtrack to a art film.