Antony and the Johnsons: Swanlights
By Freeden Oeur 13 October 2010
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/131387-antony-and-the-johnsons-swanlights/On 2005's I Am a Bird Now, the terrific album by New York City-based Antony and the Johnsons, Antony Hegarty's voice sounded deeply, almost frighteningly, intimate. It was like a pair of arms that stretched out to embrace everyone within reach, but were wrapped tightly enough to feel a bit uncomfortable. His vibrato warbled some, but mostly shook fiercely, and the sound was otherworldly. I Am a Bird Now was an introspective affair, a mirror we held up to ourselves, where we were forced to confront why these songs could make us feel both inspired and unsettled. Antony recognized that his gender identity could provoke the same feelings in people (though he's often described as transgender, he views himself more as androgynous, as moving freely along the continuum between masculinity and femininity). But he also knows that if we're patient, we might find that ambiguity is beauty.
