Secretly Canadian
It’s no secret that Antony Hegarty’s voice is divisive. For every fanatic who cites the singer’s croon as an emotionally lush chamber-pop reincarnation of Nina Simone there are hordes of sourpusses who write off his tremolo-heavy performances as art-pop melodrama. Swanlights Hegarty’s fourth release as Antony and the Johnsons won’t settle that argument but it does mark a pivotal moment for the singer. Now that the shock of hearing that voice has started to subside the focus is squarely on Hegarty’s songs. Fortunately his skills as a composer and arranger are up to the task.
Swanlights continues in the vein of rich orchestration that Hegarty explored on 2009’s The Crying Light with contemporary classical wunderkind Nico Muhly again contributing to the album’s ethereal mood. Opener “Everything is New” sees the singer playing with the titular phrase over an increasingly complex arrangement for a full three minutes before allowing the song to coalesce into a wordless flurry. The songs that follow explore the singer’s pet themes of nature transformation death and reincarnation sometimes directly and sometimes in obtuse word puzzles and the musical backdrops never cease to amaze. Swanlights’ closing quartet in particular showcases the singer’s remarkable range moving from the exuberant “Thank You for Your Love” to the otherworldly “Flétta” a duet with Bjork that finds the two singers entwining their unearthly voices to gorgeous effect.
Muhly’s fingerprints are all over the intricate “Salt Silver Oxygen” while album-closer “Christina’s Farm” takes the opposite approach showcasing a steady and sombre — but no less affecting — arrangement. Even without the shock of newness Swanlights manages to include just as many heart-stopping moments as its predecessors. Hegarty’s voice mannered as it is will still likely keep him resigned to the fringes of pop culture but for those inclined Swanlights is a fine addition to his repertoire.
