Antony And The Johnsons - Angel On Fire

Catching Fire, the middle book in the Hunger Games trilogy and follow-up to last year's film, hits theatres in the US tonight.  The first movie featured a soundtrack with contributions from a variety of big name artists, including Taylor Swift and Arcade Fire.  The entire soundtrack aesthetic matched the film almost perfectly and also turned out to be quite the money maker, so they're doing it again.  Catching Fire's soundtrack is getting plenty of buzz, thanks to names like Sia and Lorde, but the final track on the album is by Antony And The Johnsons and we need to talk about it.

First of all, Antony being associated with a young adult book sensation is an unexpected image.  I can't stop myself from imagining all of the young teens who will be introduced to his music through their love of Katniss.  With that said, the song is beautifully understated.  It starts out with sweeping strings that sound like both a Hunger Games score and a signature Antony track.  It has that hopeless yet hopeful sound.  Some of the music behind the song comes from an old 4-track recording that Antony used with his previous performances in New York City clubs.  Maybe "Angel On Fire" will manage to get a slot during the closing credits.

Antony And The Johnsons - Cut The World

Antony And The Johnsons' new live album, Cut The World, came out today.  The record features a selection of songs from each of Antony's past releases and a speech titled "Future Feminism".  The recording is from Antony's stay at Copenhagen's DK Concert Hall in September of 2011 and he's backed by The Danish National Chamber Orchestra.

"Cut The World" is the album's opening track.  Previously unreleased, the song comes from Marina Abramović's stage show, The Life And Death Of Marina Abramović.  A chilling video for the song, starring Carice Van Houten, William Dafoe, and Abramović herself accompanies the album's release.  There are endless possible interpretations to what the video demonstrates. Is it the result of one being under another's command for too long?  Is it a feminist film or simply anti-male?  Viewer discretion is advised due to violence.

Cut The World is out now on Secretly Canadian.  You can buy a copy for yourself here.  For more information on Antony And The Johnsons, head over to their website.

If I Could Turn Back Time... To 2010

Calm down, I'm not going all Cher on you, but it's that time of year again.  "Best Of" lists are swarming the internet as every website, blog, or magazine declares their favorite music of 2011.  Before I get to my favorite albums of this year, I wanted to take a step back into the yesteryear of 2010.  At the end of last year, I wrote a pair of posts ranking my twelve favorite records.  For the most part I still love every album included on the list, but countless album are released in the span of a year and opinions change.  Records slip the mind, and you don't realize how crucial of a mistake you've made until almost a year later.  That's exactly what happened to me as I looked back on my 2010 list.  I'd like to dedicate this post the the albums of 2010 that I overlooked and truly deserve to be called some of the best.

First up is Volume Two by She & Him.  While Zooey and M. Ward are currently spreading the Christmas spirit with their latest release, Volume Two is a quirky collection of pop songs.  Zooey Deschanel is the definition of "quirky" and M. Ward is the perfect balance.  This album is something that you could play and somehow manage to satisfy every generation.  Grandma loves the retro vibe, while the kids sing along to the incredibly infectious melodies.

Next would be Special Affections by Diamond Rings.  I found this gem a little late.  Canada's John O'Regan crafted an album that really changes the classification of genres and genders.  The music is minimal, yet fills the room better than your average dance beat.  Is it pop or rock?  His voice certainly isn't one of your usual high-pitched wailer and his flamboyant image says the opposite.  I love this record and can't wait to hear what he does next.

The third album is Swanlights by Antony And The Johnsons.  Every single time I've played one of Antony Hegarty's songs for a listener who has never heard him before, they've always had an instant reaction.  Sometimes the reaction is less than welcoming, but Antony always makes an impact.  His vibrato is unforgettable and his music is haunting.  His debut album contains some of the most honest lyrics I've ever heard, and Swanlights doesn't disappoint.

As I take a final reflection on my 2010 list, I wonder to myself how this album isn't on it.  Brothers by The Black Keys.  I really can't find a flaw with Brothers.  It's about as soulful as rock music will ever be.  The duo just released their follow-up album, El Camino, this week.  After listening to it, I wanted to go back and hear Brothers once again.  If you haven't given this record a spin, I highly recommend you make time for it.

Check back later this month for a list of my favorite albums from 2011.

Antony And The Johnsons - The Spirit Was Gone

Antony Hegarty has one of the most emotional and vulnerable voices that I've heard in a long time. It's haunting.  His vibrato is incredibly rapid, yet controlled, and his lyrics are brutally honest and personal. "The Spirit Was Gone" is a solemn song about death.  Antony sings over soft piano chords and crying strings.  The song's simplicity is what brings through the raw emotions.  He states that "It's hard to understand", almost like an innocent child asking a question  It's truly a remarkable song.

Antony And The Johnsons released their fourth full length album this week.  Swanlights contains "The Spirit Was Gone" and ten more tracks, including a duet with Björk.  You can download this single for free below.

Keep reading to watch the music video for "The Spirit Was Gone" featuring the Butoh dancer, Kazuo Ohno, who was featured on the cover of Antony And The Johnsons album, The Crying Light.