Antony And The Johnsons / Antony And The Johnsons
Album: Antony And The Johnsons   Collection:General
Artist:Antony And The Johnsons   Added:Aug 2004
Label:Secretly Canadian  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2004-12-05 Pull Date: 2005-02-06
Week Ending: Jan 2 Dec 12
Airplays: 1 1

Recent Airplay
1. May 05, 2009: Living Souls [for A]
Twilight
4. Dec 31, 2004: Hail To The Past, Move Towards The Future
Atrocities
2. Dec 16, 2005: vampires dont bite other vampires
Atrocities
5. Dec 08, 2004: Dross
Rapture
3. Feb 25, 2005: Midnight Meanderings
Cripple and the Starfish

Album Review
Ragnar of Ravensfjord
Reviewed 2004-11-02

Antony (not Anthony) & The Johnsons sound could best described as torchsongs that deal with isolation, androgony & sadness. Antony’s voice is a very stunning mix of Bryan Ferry, Chet Baker and maybe even Jimmy Sommerville (Bronski Beat, Communards). The songs are a like like a real slow Roxy Music mixed with very sad kinda romantic yet melancholic cabret/torch songs.

They’ve done a lot of interesting collaborations with all sorts of people including Boy George, Current 93, David Lynch & Angelo Balmenetti. Antony even has local roots

"I went to a magnet school for the performing arts in San Jose... the armpit of Silicon Valley. It was probably the only high school in the area where I wouldn't have been duct-taped to a tree and spat on. I was also the lead singer and songwriter for a death rock band." (Index magazine interview with Antony & Lou Reed)

((((1)))) Sounds a bit like Chet Baker mixed with Roxy Music. Very slow, torch-song like. Very nice & screaming for a David Lynch movie to go with it.
(((2)))) Very nice violin and piano and again a lot Bryan Ferry meets Jimmy Sommerville vocal inflections. Strange masocistic lyrics, too.
((((3)))) Uptempo dark, twisted & sarcastic tune with fast piano playing. Sounds like it could be influenced by the book “Malador” but with a 20th century twist.
(((((4))))) Brooding etheral somberness with floating tempo. Great vocals & strings all accompanied with some almost Joy Division -like lyrics
((((5))) Slow ballad with a hint a cabraet blues. Borders on elements of olde tyme spirituals.
(((6))) Sparse harp, piano and super torch song elements. Sounds like a club scene that was cut out of “Blue Velvet”
((((7)))) Uptempo with a click-track beat and nice flute & violin accents throughout.
(((((8))))) (FCC “and I’ll swallow shit...” 2:01) Fantastic Roxy Music-ish number that’s an ode to the legendary drag actor from every classic John Waters film. Incredible vocal and band performance
((((9)))) Slow, pitter-patter beat with a huge “smoky bar at 3am in Greenwich Village” feeling which opens up to a louder and bigger, fuller sound.

Track Listing
1. Twilight   5. River of Sorrow
2. Cripple and the Starfish   6. Rapture
3. Hitler in My Heart   7. Deeper than Love
4. Atrocities   8. Divine
  9. Blue Angel