Tunes Review: Antony and the Johnsons – Swanlights

By Peter de Vries, Staff Contributor

Antony Hegarty is one of those artists who you just know is going to make great music right from the beginning.

His new album with his backing band, The Johnsons, shows that prophecy really beginning to come to fruition, even if *Swanlights*, their fourth album, is a typical grower that takes multiple listens to reveal its treasures.

There may not be anything on Swanlights that’s as immediately satisfying as “Fistful of Love,” a standout track from 2005’s I Am a Bird Now, but that hardly matters, since the album is rife with all of the raw vulnerability and emotion that makes Antony such a compelling artist. In fact, Antony and the Johnsons have managed to weave all of those sentiments into their most consistent album yet, and one of the year’s best.

One of Antony’s greatest strengths is his ability to somehow sound like he is singing directly into your ear, and he achieves this intimate feeling over and over again throughout the album on the haunting “The Spirit Was Gone” and “Thank You for Your Love,” which begins innocently as a docile ballad before gradually ballooning into a joyous blast of guitar, piano, horns, and some of Antony’s most impassioned vocals.

Don’t be surprised if you suddenly have a million goosebumps after listening to the achingly gorgeous “Great White Ocean,” which finds Antony crooning gently over a harp-like acoustic guitar to an almost otherworldly, ethereal effect.

Later on in the album, you’ll be treated to “Fletta,” a duet driven by soft piano, Antony’s mellifluous crooning, and Bjork—Antony’s latest musical foil. Bjork’s airy vocals guide the track to its halfway point before the piano becomes more propulsive, encouraging their duelling voices to cross harmonious paths.

Swanlights’ quality never diminishes, making it the best encapsulation of Antony’s many musical talents to date, and it’s exciting to think that he can likely improve on even this in the future.

Swanlights hits stores on Oct. 12.