Antony & The Johnsons - The Crying Light

Antony Hegarty has never been one to skimp on the melancholy. His breakthrough album I Am A Bird Now was a painfully beautiful affair. Now, nearly four years later, he follows it up with the equally astounding The Crying Light. In the past four years, Antony’s already stellar voice has matured in leaps and bound. The production is spot on, and the string arrangements by Nico Mühly are gorgeous. The album deals in the same type of sadness and pain and loneliness that have become Antony’s trademark, but he throws in a few more upbeat tracks than in his past work, and it turns out to be some of his finest. That’s not to say the sadness is bad, Antony knows how to make the listener feel what he’s feeling, and that is the sign of a great artist. It’s a deeply moving and personal album. It requires a lot of its listener, but those who pay it the attention it deserves are greatly rewarded. This is a stellar album for a dark night and a good pair of headphones.