Marking Time

It’s already been hyped as the album of the year and the hype is justified. Antony’s voice has been compared to Nina Simone and there are similiarities but the sensibility is totally different. Imagine Nina singing the Velvet Underground’s third album somewhere other than a closet and you’ll get an idea. It’s been compared to Jeff Buckley as well, a comparison that lowers the standing of Buckley, showing up the self-indulgent narcissism that marred much of his work. No danger of that with Antony. His voice seems to act as a channel for something from another world, something bigger than himself.

I am a Bird Now is a homage to the drag queen sub-culture of New York which was devastated by AIDS in the eighties. If that sounds depressing then it’s not. The songs are more about redemption than loss, celebrating the possibilities of life rather than dwelling on the finality of death. A work of beauty.