I Am a Bird Now
Antony and the Johnsons
2005
Album Summary
I Am a Bird Now is the second album by New York City band Antony and the Johnsons. It won the Mercury Prize on September 6, 2005. After winning the prize, the album shot up the UK albums chart from #135 to #16 in one week, the biggest jump in the history of the Mercury Music Prize. As of September 2011, UK sales stood at 220,000 copies.The album features guest appearances by Rufus Wainwright ("What Can I Do?"), Devendra Banhart, Joan Wasser and by lead singer Anohni's childhood heroes Boy George and Lou Reed. The cover is a photograph by Peter Hujar of Warhol superstar Candy Darling on her deathbed (aptly titled "Candy Darling on Her Deathbed").
WikipediaI don't think you're supposed to call him Antony anymore. Who knew that 'I am a bird now' would take on such significance?
he's got such an annoying voice. i didn't get it the first time round and i still don't get it now. nice music but gets ruined by him warbling over the top.
1001 vibratos to listen to before you die. The vibrato was so distracting I didn't get much else out of this album. The background music was nice but overpowered by VIBRATOOOOOOOOO.
I was NOT expecting this. This music felt so personal, like reading someone's diary. They have a unique viewpoint of a trans life. His voice and style remind me of a mix between Nina Simone and Devendra Banhart. The instrumentals felt expansive and had a live-sounding quality. Beautiful. Unique.
16 years later and this album still leaves me speechless. I have no speech. I am without speech.
Depressing album, but in a good way, we need albums with real emotion. Great vocals, especially the vibrato, the difference between the upper and lower register singing sounded like two different singers. Really interesting.
If this guy was in the piano lounge I would definitely wait until the set was finished
It has some interesting moments here and there. The last minute of Hope There's Someone and the cameos from Lou Reed and Boy George for instance. Despite the songs being pretty straight forward with little variation musically, it has beautiful piano and strings throughout. It's also has some meaningful lyrics regarding ANHONI's life and transition, plus longing for someone. I can truely understand why this is on the list and how it has touched many hearts, but I just cannot stand the vocals and that alone was too distracting to enjoy this. Mad respect for her creating meaningful art that has touched many, but it's simply not my cup of tea.
It seems the artist tried to make some ~deep~ songs, but they turned out really boring.
I really can't stand this person's voice. The songs are pretty and tender, but the voice ruins it for me.
One's enjoyment of this i think will live or die based on what they think of the vocals. Musically i really enjoyed what was going on here but that vibrato reaches levels of comical where i had to stop listening cause i couldn't take it seriously. Most notably on the tracks where they layer the vocals so you have double the vibrato making an almost white noise of incomprehensible warbling. That said, the tracks where the vibrato is toned down and especially the ones with guest vocalists are exceptionally pretty and are the only reason i am giving this a 2 instead of a 1.
I tried, I really did. Everyone raves about the voice. It's more grating than interesting.
The kind of self indulgent warbling that apparently qualifies as music. I initially thought his voice was interesting but by the third track it just grated on me. And the songwriting is really dull. Boring and annoying is not a good combination. At 35 minutes it was 25 minutes too long.
For the record, nothing about this looked appealing to me ahead of time. Couldn’t have been more surprised to hear the beauty woven throughout the album. Anohni’s hauntingly powerful vibrato vocals shine as the music seems to dynamically flow from her singing. Loved nearly every song and noticed how the compositional style remains simple and elegant yet has surprising and unexpected turns whenever you think you have it figured out. Lou Reed sits in as a bonus.
Great Misconduct At Home, Just Wrote Saf7a Bark Men 3l Bouheli Mte3 Dostoevsky 3al Album He4a
I wasn't convinced I was going to like this after the first track, it sounded a bit unfinished, like a demo or something. But as I got into it I realised that this just works, and ended up enjoying it a lot.
Wow! First album in here, that I didn't know at all, and then got transfixed by! I am (almost) speechless. This album is labelled as baroque/art pop. Well, if this genre is supposed to sound like this, then sign me in! Songs on this album have two layers. The first one, is a usually slow and rather melancholic, but beautiful melody, played on piano with plenty of string instruments. The second one is an incredibly rare and forceful voive of singer, Anhoni. And the song that shows that combinations better than anything else, is 'Hope there's someone'. If the only goal of listening to 1001 albums would be to hear this song for the first time, it is well worth it. Whole album is a very beautiful journey, that has been plaing in the background for the last day, and will be played for a long time since. Bravo!
Incredible record!! Loved it. The voice and emotions are so powerful! I am not so found of the guest voices as the main voice is so freaking nice. 4.5/5
I don't think I ever truly enjoyed the (main) vocals 100% but I sure as hell could appreciate it. It's quite emotive, and while the vibrato is a bit quicker than I usually prefer, it worked for the music. And the music? Beautiful. It's a very tough call to make because the vocals were still my least favorite part of it all, but I have to give this a 5 because of all the parts coming together perfectly.
Really glad to hear this - I had listened to some Anohni in the past and loved it, but forgot about it. Now have listened to everything from both
Well, wasn't expecting that. Very sparse but with big performances, especially vocally. I don't think you can miss what the subject matter is, and I think vocally Anohni just nails the right mix of vulerable and strong. It may have not been created for me (as a straight cis guy), but I'm very happy it's here. Favorite tracks: "Bird Gehrl", "You Are My Sister", "Fistful of Love"
Where was I in 2005 that I didn't know about this album or this band? For today, I think this is a little bit exaggerated on the sad environment, but it looks perfect for the 15 years old me.
i went into this thinking it would be a boring indie rock album based exclusively on the cover and i am very glad that i was wrong. i'm definitely happy i checked this out and i'm very interested in checking out anohni's solo work.
Never heard of this band or album. Blown away. Great listen that I will return to. Chamber pop.
This album was very interesting, I'm still not exactly sure where I stand on it. However, it felt good to sit through as it comes from the perspective of someone who paints a grief filled picture of what it's like to be transgender. And I think it's a very necessary one to listen to in the current climate. It makes me realize that 2005 wasn't very long ago and we still very much are dealing with the same mindset about some things. You can very clearly hear the pain in Anohi's voice and while it might not be technically perfect, she still gets the point through. I've never heard an album that so blatantly talks about being trans, especially not one from 18 years ago. As sad as it starts, and the heavy topics it deals with, the album does end on a happy note. As our protagonist is no longer dealing with the things tying her down, whether that be the body she was born in or an abusive relationship. It serves as a reminder that there is a proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.
What a beautiful album. Such strong opening track too. You can feel the rawness and emotions in most of these. I found “For Today I Am A Boy” very powerful, especially after reading up a bit about the band. Saved songs: Hope There’s Someone, For Today I Am A Boy, Spiralling
Haunting; full of pain, pleasure, and beauty. I think Anhoni may have been my first exposure to a trans person. I discovered this album shortly after it came out and was completely captivated by it. Still love it today. I think it has aged very well!
Had high expectations when this album was released, but usually only listen to the three or four stand-out tracks - rest of the songs = three star. I would say 4* is the appropriate rating.
Je m'attendais pas à cette voix, impressionné (4/5 mais 5/5 pour la cover et Lou Reed) Prefs: Hope There's Someone, You Are My Sister, FISTFUL OF LOVE, Spiralling Moins pref: Free At Last
Was not expecting the voice… strange, unique, and hauntingly beautiful.
I liked this, for all its over the top operatic presentation, it had a unique sound and the lyrics mostly managed to be dramatic without falling over into mawkish melodrama.
What a wild ride. Crazy voice! She's got some killer vibrato. Worth a listen.
Good stuff. Lush, acoustic instruments; unusual vibrato vocals and well written songs.
Really enjoyed this, not listened to their work before and it was a good starting point.
Amazing voice and powerful lyrics speaking to issues and perspectives that aren't common in popular music.
Great rainy day album. Beautiful singing voice - reminds me a lot of benjamin copeland
Love her voice. I've been a fan for a long time and this aughts-era indie will always have a soft spot in my heart.
Открывающий трек, You Are My Sister, What Can I Do? и Fistful of Love - однозначно шедевры. Близко к тому, что хочется слышать в идеальном альбоме из палаты мер и весов этого жанра. 8 из 10.
Iskreno mi se ni ovo nije slušalo, ne znam šta mi je u posljednje vrijeme. Međutim, natjerao sam se i mogu reći da ima dosta dobrih stvari na albumu, lijepih trenutaka, instrumentala obojano posebnim vokalom sa dobrim konceptom osobe koja želi izać iz muškog tijela.
Una veu, una manera de cantar i unes composicions tremendament personals. D'una cruesa i una sensibilitat gairebé extremes. Temes com 'Today I'm a Boy', 'You Are My Sister' o 'Hope There's Someone' són d'una preciositat que fa posar els péls de punta. Va ser la seva cúspide artística i un dels discos a reivindicar dels 00's
I couldn't help but read the album title in a Scouse accent. Yeh, is right la! I quite enjoyed this album. I appreciate that Anohni's vocals can be an acquired taste, still I find them hauntingly beautiful, somewhat anguished and honest.
The way he can manipulate the octaves of his voice are insane. Beautiful album. Want to like sit by a river and listen to it in headphones.
Ekki endilega plata sem ég myndi hlusta á á hverjum degi eða oft í röð, en margt mjög fallegt og vel gert hér.
I didn't know this at all before. It did take a while to warm on me but I really liked it. Fistful of Love was EXCELLENT. A great find.
This reminds me very much of being 20, at uni in Brighton with Callum and listening to Antony and the Jonhsons and loving how different it was, and how the style is almost a bit unsettling but beautiful. Antony is now Anonhi and I think in this album wonderfully sung about gender identity, not something you come across that often. I massively recommend watching the live versions of some of these songs, spine tingles
First impressions: modern Tiny Tim. Layered vocals are very powerful. I'm not really sure how to rate this yet. I can recognize the genius, but I don't know if I like it yet.
A heartbreakingly beautiful album that I'm rounding down to a 4 because it is literally SO. INSANELY. DEPRESSING. Not in the fun way either. I'm pretty goth and all, but this is too much. 110% deserving of being on the 1001, but I can probably go another 10 to 15 years before I'll feel like listening to it again. Peace and love to the trans comrades, stay strong.
Wow. Definitely a captivating voice and the first half of Hope There's Someone is breathtaking. Though the album is a bit more hit and miss from there, the passion and story making this a engaging and enjoyable album.
Beautiful album when listened to on a cold dark night. Had it been on a sunny beach it may have lost a point.
Apparemment cet album n'est plus dans les dernières éditions du livre, et c'est bien dommage
Occasionally dull but always original, this album at its peak is beautiful and haunting
Really lovely album, there is a melancholy to her singing that evokes feelings of heartbreak but also hopefulness. Spiraling and Bird Girl are standouts.
Fair fucking play, Antony & the Johnsons really bringing home the bacon. I was expecting mediocrity after the first, then as if by magic, I was immersed. Initially I struggled to tell if this was a man or a woman singing and it turns out I was kinda right with whatever answer I chose. Given this new found knowledge about the band members the lyrics become all the more poignant. Shout out to Gianna Infantino for the brilliant song writing on song three. Up the Johnsons.
Olipa kaunis levy! Solistilla upea ääni ja sovitukset onnistuu tavoittamaan jonkin paikan syvällä sisimmässä. Helppo 4/5.
My Lady Story ja Fistful of Love on ihan tajuttoman kovia biisejä. Tosi rauhoittava ja hieno levy muutenkin.
Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Hope there’s someone, Man is the baby, Fistful of love
Beautiful melodies Overarching theme of melancholy Lullaby feel at times very easy listening
Listened before: no Added to library: yes (4/10) Really gorgeous, really heavy.
I loved this album when it came out but listening back to it now, I am struggling to remember why. The voice is beautiful but the music seems to be there solely to showcase the voice, there's not a lot going on. The later ANOHNI stuff is infinitely more interesting.
Unusual vocals, unique and haunting. As a whole, I felt this got better as I worked through the album, not gripped at the start, but really enjoyed it by the end. Musically varied, but all linked by Anohni‘s gifted voice
Haunting and beautiful. Definitely from the heart, both the lyrics and the performance. The constant vibrato in the voice sometimes becomes too much. Not a regular re-listen but poses questions that linger and therefore worthy of merit.
Sometimes hard to listen to the vocals, but there is some beautiful music here.
Antony's vibrato is probably the worst part of this experience. A very beautiful album, but the vocal styling is what ruins it for me.
This wasn’t what I expected, especially right off of the bat. The music and vocals were not anticipated, but in a good way. The R&B kind of feel have this a good vibe, which I liked, I just found it difficult to get fully “into” this album. I liked it, but not in a way that will make me seek out other music by this artist.
I remember in my 20s hearing the first track on Pandora radio and was pretty struck by it, so I went and tried to listen to the album... and more of it I heard the more I started to dislike it. The heavy vibrato-vocals I think work well to be used sparingly, or just one track. But, as it goes on it gets to be too much for me. Might be a nice concert to go to and never listen to again, just for that transient experience.
Vibrato vox very much not my thing. First track is undeniably powerful but I can't take a whole album of it. Emotionally exhausting.