For anybody who had their hearts broken by Antony & The Johnson's 2005 release I Am A Bird Now (the most tearjerking album of that year or most), you'll be happy to hear that voice again. He's been having a productive year already with his Hercules & Love Affair project where his voice surprisingly worked over disco. Now Antony & The Johnsons have a new EP to act as a teaser for a record early next year.
The Another World EP starts off, thankfully, with Antony doing what he does best. The first two songs are slow, undynamic ballads with his voice and piano at the forefront. Then, things go wrong: "Shake That Devil" is an attempt at freeform bluesy vocal-jazz, which ends up sounding like open mic night for amateur poets. I see what he was going for here, I just hope it never happens again. After that, he goes back to the vocal/piano/violin combo that made him famous in the first place. "Hope Mountain" has some beautiful orchestral flourishes, but things don't get to wild on the last two tracks.
As long as he sticks to what he's good at, his new LP in 2009 should be a great album. All he needs is that voice; experimenting and trying to be someone else isn't always a good move.
Lucinda Williams has a new album out tomorrow. It's getting surprisingly weak reviews, but I'm almost positive she is incapable of creating a bad album. I'll tell you in a few days.
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