I Am a Bird Now

bailed halfway when the vibrato knocked my headphones off

No

Bluesy smooth vibe

This is one of the worst album to which I have listened. Terrible music, unappealing voice, trite lyrics that want so badly to be edgy. This will not replace Harry Parch are the album to play at the end of the night to get people to leave.

This was a fun one it is like Nina Simone and a jazzy techno band had a baby

Buen disco con una voz muy personal.

What a crock of shit- in the first 10 seconds you can tell that’s no woman singing.

Not for me. Warbly. I remember when the first two albums came out and I tried to get into Antony and the Johnsons based on critical reviews. The honest highlight for me our the horns on the last minute of "Fistful of Love"

Not into the marbling voice

Thematically important but too sombre to fit the mood of the day, unfortunately, which naturally has a bearing on how we rate this album. Ahnoni is an impressive artist and we appreciate the meaningfulness of the songs. May explore again when the mood calls for it.

A unique album that I'm struggling to form a strong opinion on. I liked the musical composition. It was elegant. The vibrato singing style I did not like and it overpowered many of the songs. The lyrics felt personal and significant. I don't think it's going to break into any of my personal playlists but I wouldn't go as far as to say I disliked it.

I coudn't stand his voice. Each every song have this weird vibratio that couldn't let me focus on lyrics and instrumental.

5/5. Such a beautiful album, hard to deny the expert vocals and with the simple instrumentation, it knows what to highlight. The lyrics are clear and direct but contain sadness in each one. There is most likely an underlying meaning as well. Then during the songs that slowly raise in sound, it adds more instrumentation and feels more like an anthem with such soulful vocals. This is hard to not like, so freakin good. Can't believe I've missed out on this, a repeat listen for sure. Best Song: Hope There's Someone, Fistful of Love, You Are My Sister

I heard more Boy George influence than Lou Reed. And I know I don't want to hear this again.

I lasted about 27 seconds.

J'ai trouvé sa voix tellement belle et réconfortante. Vraiment c'est un timbre feutré tellement apaisant. Les paroles sont aussi très poétiques et captivantes. Par contre, une chance que c'est juste 35 min de long car le style très doux devient monotone à la longue. C'est un bon album, mais il faut vraiment être dans un mood tranquille. 7.5/10

Если бы у Тома Йорка и Ланы дель Рей были бы дети, они написали бы этот альбом.

Interesting, but no.

Never heard of this artist. Not a bad album

Piola

The vocalist sounds like he's trying to channel Tiny Tim and Thom Yorke, and sing in a serious manner. Maybe I would have enjoyed this more if the singer didn't overemphasize the vibrato. The cover is also incredibly creepy, a woman in her deathbed? Yikes. Way too depressing. Next.

Anohni has such a unique, warbling vocal style. It immediately grabbed me on the opener Hope There's Someone, a very beautiful song. Tough to determine whether it was more hopeful or despairing - part of its beauty I think. Honestly I'd like to know a little more about the album and its songs because it seems like this has a lot to do with her transitioning to a woman (My Lady Story, For Today I Am a Boy, You Are My Sister, Spiralling, Bird Guhl). I think she already identified as a trans woman then, despite not changing her name so her lyrics seem to reflect that. Very deep, and raw. Much respect for how she pens those deep emotions. I would've liked a little more out of the collaborations - Boy George and Lou Reed in particular were so-so. Anohni's voice was still great on those songs. And this was still a good album overall. Another one of those out of nowhere albums. Exactly the kind of thing that should be on this list regardless of how much you like it. But I liked it a fair bit.

157/1001 🌕🌗🌑🌑🌑

found this pretty enthralling. i understand the criticism towards the constant vibrato, but this album had a somber atmosphere with very unique, high-quality production.

Not my favorite

9/10. Fantastic all the way through. Great shift of pace as well. Added about half the album to the playlist.

I had never heard of this, but it looks like it won the Mercury Prize so it just HAS to be included. All in all this was fine but really not at all for me. I could see how British critics in 2005 loved this album though.

Not for me.

I’m sorry I could not do this voice

Nah, you’re alright cheers. This is definitely an acquired taste.

This is such a beautiful album. The vibrato is a bit excessive at times but I can overlook that because it's so good. The lyrics are heartbreaking and the minimalist production really drives them home.

Pretty good. She has a unique voice (even if it makes everyone think it’s a man singing, which is understandable) and the songs are interesting. 3 stars, but more in the way of ‘pretty good, but doesn’t warrant 4’ than ‘this album is just okay’.

Somehow lives up to the haunting beautiful album cover art. Emotional, personal, meditative; pours it all out there. Nothing I'd want to listen to twice, though.

Don't know what to think... One side of me says "this is contrived" The other side of me says "this is forced" That leaves me in the middle saying to both my sides "that's the same, you idiots" Hearing Lou's voice for a second was nice, and it even gave me hope for a second that I would find a killer song on this album, and then there was no more Lou. There are some songs that are pretty good, however, the voice... If you would get a crooner to sing these songs, you'd probably have a solid 4* album, but this voice... 2**

Moody and melancholy. Not for me. Just kind of a drag.

Great voice but not my thing.

Bailed after 30 seconds. Can't get beyond that bloody voice.

This is the kind of crap someone who thinks they're smarter than they are insists you have to listen to because its so meaningful, maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan

I can see how this is a polarizing album. You really need to be okay with her voice or you will not like this. The album definitely grew on me and I found it hauntingly beautiful.

Tried to listen to this all the way through four times now. It's just so boooooooring. Not for me

No. I don't want to be harsh, but it felt like a parody of vibrato after a while. I just couldn't. I had to distract myself with work to finish the album.

elated to have been forced by this project to give Anohni another shot...cuz this is instantly one of my favorite albums ever hufhufduh...somehow despite my usual aversion to singer-songwriter/soul-adjacent music this makes me want to know everything about that world, some of the most achingly beautiful and affirming music ahhh 10/10

When this album came out, and won the Mercury, I thought it was very good. I think it's only now, 19 years on and considerably more in touch with my emotions, that I really feel the full extraordinary power of the feelings that shine through this. Their voice is filled with pain and sorrow, but never weak, the instrumentalisation is pitch-perfect and resonant, and the lyrics! My god. So many songs - You Are My Sister, Fistful of Love and Hope There's Someone for instance - have that perfect lyrical balance of simplicity and elegance that is so hard to reach. I could talk for days about this record. And do.

*should be listed as Anohni and the Johnsons Anohni has one of the most beautiful voices ever recorded.

At first I hated this. It started to get bearable in the middle, then quickly back downhill again at the end.

A few weeks ago, Anohni and the Johnsons were on Gent Jazz. I never heard of them and they sold out. Now I understand a little bit better why: this was a very nice soul(?)/pop album.

Djeezes, wat een kutstem. Fistful of love was nog oké. Maar meh, hoger dan een 1.8 gaat het niet worden.

Exquisite and haunting, lovely and refined, a work of great beauty and some profundity, clearly rooted in personal anguish/pain. The mix of modes is also impressive: some soul/R&B, some Winterreise/chanson vibes, some pure chamber pop, some heartbreak balladry. The guest spots somewhat unbalance proceedings, given that A’s voice is so distinct.. But they suggest the good taste and foresight of the participants. (Re the cameos: Boy George sounds a bit tired, perhaps uncertain, even shaky, but is effective overall, particularly given the fragility of the subject matter. Rufus is best, well suited to the lavish emotionality, and pushing it to the edge. Lou Reed makes much of an almost negligible contribution, characteristically calling attention to himself through a rather studied and wholly contrived casualness [no one seems so uptight about showing off how cool he is]). The transgender developments of more recent years are foreshadowed rather directly – to some extent, it seems the plot of the record. The occasionally excessive vibrato is easily forgiven. This made quite the impact all those years ago and has aged extraordinarily well, which makes the ex-ing by editors a baffling choice.

Took itself way too seriously but also that voice felt like a prank was being played on me. Just seems like a generic attempt at an artsy album.

Another band I've never heard of. Surprised to learn that they are from NYC. Clear to me why they never made it in the US. Most of this album is maudlin and depressing. The lead singer does have a very good voice but the overall feel is just so dour. That said, there was one song that I thought was great -- by far the best on the album -- "Fistful of Love". I never need to hear the rest of this again.

Not really for me, but well put together. Unique lead vocalist

Guys voice is quite annoying, some songs are alright though

1/6

Nah

Absolutely incredible

Molto rilassante... quando hai bisogno di un mood tranquillo, leggermente malinconico e lento, è perfetto.

Favourite song - Fistful of love

The music is really good, sometimes quite sombre though. However, the vibrato on most of the vocals is way over the top and grates rather than adding to the music.

This one's just kinda boring. I was thinking of giving it a 3 since it was just alright, but then I realized I couldn't remember a single song.

Like James Blake if you gave his voice more vibrato and he had less interesting production

I really couldn't get into this album. It sounded like it was trying to be poignant and deep, but the layered vocals and melodramatic lyrics just seemed a bit amateurish. It won an award, so I guess someone must have liked it quite a bit. The songs made no sense.

The bird is not going to make it.

I liked the songs but not the singer

5☆/5 07.17.2024

Quite whiny, but still harmonic.

1001 Albums Day 12 A beautifully written, performed and recorded album of heartfelt acoustic piano ballads. Though a lot of the songs are short, they feel complete, as supposed to, say Dorian Electra's Edgelord. I fun it kind of funny and very impressive that Anohni managed to stay in the closet when she refers to herself as a woman in some way on For Today I Am A Boy, What Can I Do? and Bird Gerhl. Though I find the album beautiful, it is a bit too simple for me, so it'll never be an album that I love, simply one I quite like. Favs: Hope There's Someone, My Lady Story, For Today I Am A Boy, You Are My Sister, What Can I Do?, Birdd Gerhl Least Favs: Fistful Of Love, Free At Last 77/100

In some alternate universe this album is a masterpiece. Fortunately we are not in that universe.

This album has a lot of meaning and emotion behind it, but judging it on a purely music level it's okay. To me they remind me of songs that some one with a sob story would sing on American Idol or something, and I hate singing competitions. A lot of the songs sound the same too, but the album is short so it isn't too bad. Also the guitar tone during the guitar solo on fistful of love is terrible. 2.5

yeck

At first I thought this was a little too weird and overdone on the vibrato and drama. A little uncomfortable in parts perhaps. But then I looked at it from the angle of all the influences on the album, the emotion, and the production... I feel like it's gotta be a 3.6+ into the 4/5 This is a substantial production.

This is something very different. Which makes a nice change. Really enjoyed it. Will I go back to it? Probably not, but still decent!

In which an entire album is based around the voice of the singer, and the singer sounds like a dog toy on its last legs

Incredibly beautiful album that earned lead singer ANOHNI a Mercury Music Prize. It's an incredibly deep and tender album that explores queerness with introspection that I have not seen to such a degree in music.

Interesting...

The very mixed reviews scared me, but I liked this overall. I did skip the first song halfway through, and that was because of my biggest complaint , the vocalist. Just not a great voice. But I do realize that this is an extremely personal album and no one else could have sang it. So I forgive them.

Hope There's Someone is perfect. I remember when it won the Mercury Prize in 2005, and everybody (including the right) all thought "Oh that's nice, a trans person* has written a beautiful album of ballads about not feeling like he belongs, that seems like the sort of thing that can and should win this prize". If it happened today they'd all lose their minds and scream woke. It's all manufactured outrage and is silly and hurtful as fuck. Very annoying and sad. *Okay... They wouldn't have said trans person. I wouldn't have said trans. It was 2005 and I wasn't educated enough+. But you know what I mean. +Which ironically is the source of the word 'woke'. I think it came from the Nation of Islam - IE they would ask if a young black man was 'woke', meaning 'are you aware and educated about the structures white men have put in place to hold you back from realising your potential.

There are some moments in here that I dig, but overall, this is very much not for me. 2/5

Couldn't handle the vocal style.

One word - vibrato. Lots and lots of vibrato. The music is like a mix of torch songs and haunting jazz/pop. The lyrics are all about struggle - with your own identity, society, other people and teh deconstructing of gender. That album title has to be a knowing wink to that last point too. Though the voice is one that is full of emotion, the vibrato does get a tad grating after awhile. Best Tracks: Hope There's Someone; You Are My Sister; Fistful of Love

Bloody fuck this was annoying, voice is kinda all over the place and just warrbles, piano is fine....and probably the best part of it.

I can understand people hate the voice. It's like an exaggerated version of Billy Holliday. Apparently too much for a lot of people. I like it for the length of the album and probably not much longer. Favorite song: fistful of love

I didn’t gel with this album. I found the vocal performance and playing to be good but the actual songs to be incredibly boring. If someone told me they liked this album I could understand but to me it was a snooze-fest.

A very haunting opening track, that was nicely, delicately delivered. Need to look up Anohni. Surprised to see she's Trans. Fair play to her - she's pretty talented. Best Tracks - What can I do?

I had no idea what to expect from this but was still surprised by her voice on the first line. Sets a really nice, moody atmosphere.

the music is ok, but the vocals… this guys has WAY too much vibrato in his voice. i can’t. i just can’t.

What are we doing

Llegué a Anohni a través de Hercules and Love Affair hace un tiempo. Su voz es tremenda: hay algo en su vibración que vuelve todo muy emocional. Disco lleno de temazos, con aires pop, jazzeros, de cámara.

Pretty good! Enjoyed it more in that I got to listen with Stevie while he drove me to the airport. Wasn’t a huge fan but liked some of the pianos. I’ll take it over the UK mediocrity.

I know Anohni, the transgender artist formerly known as Antony, for the song she made that almost won an Oscar, "Manta Ray." Really, really cool song, I was mesmerized by her style immediately. This album puts me in a similar space, such a unique voice and sound that I'm almost surprised that I enjoy. I'm not saving too many songs from this one, but it's really good and enjoyable to me. Cool that this made the list. Favorite tracks: Hope There's Someone, My Lady Story. Album art: I'm not sure if that is Anohni (or, at the time, Antony) in the bed, I'm leaning toward "no" but don't ask me. Anyway, it's a black and white picutre of what seems to be a woman in a bed with some flowers on the covers. The heavy eye makeup makes this spooky - second time in a week or so that I've been reminded of the zombies in Carnival of Souls. It's a good cover though. 3.5/5

I was not expecting to like this at all - when it started I instantly thought it would be extremely indulgent and pretentious for no reason and I was more than ready to give it up after the first minute. But I quickly realised that there was a story behind it all, a message of uncertainty and transition that I found extremely moving.

Ouch! Music, writing, vocals, are all bad and there's no redeeming instrumentation. There's just no reason to cue this up. The Hujar photo is the best thing the album offers!

I thought this was really interesting. Haven't heard a lot of music like this before.

ISTG this guys vocals are flat. (and i supposedly have perfect pitch, or at least thats what my music tchr + peers say) the vibrato is way too shaky and he sounds like hes trying WAY too hard to be emotional... Then at some points he sounds like hes trying to be elvis, except enunciating none of them clearly. Not good.

amazing

Good

this is the type of album that can be extremely polarizing. i did find that this album was really really beautiful, even if a bit odd at times. i would love to give this a second listen through, preferably with a nice drink in my hand, and really just let it resonate around me.

The singer sounds like she's currently in the process of being zapped by an electric fence. I really didn't get this on my first listen, but it clicked hard on the second. Shit's powerful and magical. Hits hard in an empty room at nighttime.

I didn’t enjoy listening to this album, but I think it has merit.

I was most looking forward to this album being over

There's something about this album that is touching and truly moving. ANOHNI's voice is such a rare and precious thing - and hearing this album for the first time back in 2006, I was enraptured. I find some of the album to be a little strange and fractured, but the whole creates a sense of yearning that I feel is both masterful and necessary. This is the definition of essential listening to me. To top it off, "Hope There's Someone" has stuck with me for almost two decades as one of the most powerful and touching songs I've heard. The fear of being alone, dying alone and unloved, creates such fertile soil for this album to blossom in. It makes putting a score on this album easy - it's a masterpiece.

I’m sorry but within the first second I accepted that I would dislike this album. The vocals immediately dragged and made me angry to a point where I didn’t know if I could move on even with the next song. It was slow and painful to listen to.

They sound like I did as a little kid when I'd "sing" through a giant rotating box fan. I just can't with their voice, I really can't. It's almost a shame that the music is so lovely and admittedly this is all unique ... ehh I acknowledge it's totally subjective but Anohni's voice detracts and distracts from the music so completely that it's almost disturbing. 3/10 1 star

I remember them winning the Mercury and seeing her playing live but it didn’t make an impression other than her distinctive presence. This just doesn’t gel for me. And the vocals are insufferable

Definitely the saddest album I've heard in a long time. But sad in such a beautiful way.

Nice to have at least one truly great album from the 00s.

This could've been such a beautiful album, but once I realized just how much vibrato I was hearing it was hard to focus on anything else

Ooh, that voice is grating AF and bordering on creepy. I want this bird to fly away and not ever enter my airwaves again. .5/5

If only this bird would fly away. But no. Instead it decided to take up residence in the throat of the singer fluttering away like a caged vibrato hummingbird. This has got to be one of the 1001 you must hear if only to serve as a reminder to never listen to it again. Annoying from the first downbeat. Who knows if the piano driven arrangements were any good since I never got past the grating voice. And to think this album received high rankings from supposedly well respected rags like Pitchfork. Nope.

Looking to sob in the shower, fully clothed? Or perhaps just walk straight into the ocean, but you don’t have a playlist for that? Well have I got an album for you…

This is the type of album that makes me think…maybe 1001 was too many? I’m down with unique voices and it’s good that everyone doesn’t sound the same, but I this just didn’t work for me. I had to check Spotify to see if my settings were off.

I enjoyed some of the arrangements on this album...but hate to say the singer's voice took me out of what could have potentially been a nice listen. Another reviewer mentioned vibrato (I think the exact term they used was VIBRAAATOOOO) and I couldn't get that out of my head the entire time. Just too much for me. 1.75/5

Very unique voice. Interesting but probably won't listen again.

Terrible

So this is what it would sound like if Adele sang with a mouth full of peanut butter while driving on a bumpy road.

Me he puesto tristón

Nope sorry these vocals just grate on me too much, I just can’t get past them to appreciate the rest of the album,

Very weird and not in a good way. Some of it is ok, but the rest is just not for me.

4.5 stars. "Hope There's Someone" is haunting but touching & beautiful. "Man is the baby" a beautiful thoughtful song. "You are my sister" is a nice heartfelt song. There's an over use of vibrato which gets tiring. "Fistful of Love" is soulful and tragic. "Spiraling" is a gentle but heartbreaking performance / description of spiraling into despair. "Bird Gerhl" is also very heartfelt while being a hopeful. A very sensitive and emotional listening experience.

че-то чето

В жанре грустный британец поет песни под легкое фортепиано для меня пока главный Sampha. Но это было неплохо алкоальбом: красное французское вино

the music is pretty cool throughout. unfortunately, the lead singer uses this awful, distracting vibrato the entire time and makes it virtually unlistenable. the only songs not BAD are the one fast one that doesn’t give the opportunity to vibrato and the one that is sung by a different person

Hope There’s Someone was lifted/covered by Avicii and it’s just as beautiful as it is here. I was so excited to hear the original here opening the album. And it’s consistently as raw and emotional throughout. Lots of great messaging about identity and self-discovery in the singers journey of finding a true self

Not my thing but very sincere and beautiful sounding.

Interesting album, and I can understand why it’s on the list. However, listening to that vibrating voice for such a long time - every song on the album - almost drives me crazy. So I cannot give more than two stars. With more diversity - not least wrt singing - this could have been a good and interesting album.

As beautiful as I remember

huh..

This is absolutely awful. Really this one of the albums I should listen to before I die. Not sure who picked this list but this does not belong in this list

meh. 2 stars.

ok, aber sehr slow

Alright

Stopped listening. Too boring

Absolutely beautiful. What a find

The fuck is this shit. What makes this "an album I must hear before I die?" This is just some sad, confused person's diary. There is nothing even remotely interesting about this to me.

This person sings like they're in the middle of a yawn.

At first this sounded like Joana Newsom, but it didn't click that much for me. Man is suffering, at least that's what his singing voice tells me. And I can appreciate this one for what it is, but it's not going in my rotation

2 didn’t resonate with me personally but I could see how others would connect with it. The vocals weren’t my favorite but they weren’t as bad as most the reviews say

This was a punishing listen. I found it hard to understand the lyrics due to the high pitched vocals.

Beautiful album. Haunting and sometimes strange, but always a treat to listen to.

A kind of weird mash-up of Radiohead and Louis Armstrong, with a distinctive LGBT twist. Deserved the Mercury Music Prize.

I don’t know, I have kind of mixed opinions on this. I’ve listened to this artist’s music before and it’s not for me, especially the vocals. However, I do feel like this album was pretty unique compared to a lot of the others on this list, so I’ll give it a 3 for now.

i liked the first song, it was cool, the harmonies gave me chills at the end. but the rest was just... alright. very samey, and none of it is really my thing.

I felt like someone was singing their diary entries and it kind of put me in a sour mood, it does a great job as an entire album. Really powerful and emotional but the vibrato took me out a little. outside that its a masterwork in song writing, its so depressing I dont know if I'd listen to it again.

A beautiful bummer. The kind of raw honesty and emotion that makes you go “I hope things worked out for this person”. Loved it

Säregen röst men blir lite tröttsamt att lyssna på i längden.

A very haunting voice with its quiver. I enjoyed this.

Chamber pop is not my kind of music genre, but I must admit that this album is at least well produced. But I cannot fathom this extreme vibrato in the singer's voice.

just terrible, no idea how this made it anywhere near this list. One of the few that wish there was a zero star option

i somehow made it through because the arrangements were decent. That voice though, sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

Great job of conveying the emotions of inner turmoil on some big questions. The trembling voice makes it both authentic but a bit hard to listen to at times. There are a few soulful numbers here.

I have nothing nice to say.

Great surprise. Soulful and emotional.

Nah

Thankfully, this album was short. That is the only good thing about it. The person cannot sing. It sounded like dying cats. The lyrics were eh. The music itself was not great. It is not the worst album on the list, but I definitely did not need to hear it. I will round down.

An unbelievably beautiful album. I've never heard anything like it, and most likely never will again. One of the most enchanting sounds I've heard.

No disponible en Costa Rica

wow really enjoyable

This is a groovy listen on a Saturday morning before anyone else is up. Pretty solid throughout. You can tell there has been a lot time put into writing these tunes. Not something I'll revisit but I'm glad to have heard it.

Can there ever be more inner pain and despair in a voice? Tell me, Thom, tell me!

This is not for me. Albums like these are really the reason I'm going through the list in the first place, but I absolutely cannot stand the vocals. Unfortunately there's very little going on besides the vocals. Somehow the shortest album I've heard in a long time seemed to go on forever.

Predivan album

Favorite Tracks: Hope There’s Someone For Today I Am A Boy You Are My Sister

I don’t know why anyone would find this pleasurable. A long tuneless moan

Mello. Pretty nice. 3.5

Beautiful and haunting!

So weird. Man/Woman/They/Them.... not really sure. At one point I thought I was listening to Tiny Tim... not for me

Erinnert am Jeff Buckley

Dog shit

Frankly, I’m not crazy about the genre music. However, this dude‘s voice is amazing. This dude has some pipes!

loved this

Not my thing.

There is clearly musical merit here, but it’s just not at all my bag, and way too many ballads. I really dislike the singer’s voice and can’t get past that, but I can appreciate that lots of people would like it. But I think our ratings are meant to reflect our enjoyment, not really an unbiased musical assessment. So, this will get a 1 from me, unfortunately. One highlight is the middle string section on Man Is The Baby. I also didn’t mind the Rufus Wainright song too much, but he’s also not my bag. But way more enjoyable to me than the regular singer.

OK, not my favorite

Antony and the Johnson’s I Am a Bird Now is incredibly boring. On not one did I care to listen deeply, and I was constantly annoyed by her voice on every track. The one thingI could say I liked were the outros on the songs, especially Bird Girl, which has a beautiful piano playing. All in all, I Am a Bird Now is a bad album. Best Song:Hope There's Someone Worst Song: Spiraling (with Devendra Benhart)

With sheer elegance and never-ending beauty, I Am a Bird Now is the detailing of the former Antony (with the Johnsons) unfurling to become what she was meant to be. Having faced with death (the ailing Candy Darling posing with grace on the hospital bed), we become accustomed to what was seemingly a fleeting series of songs that become tethered upon further listening and a home stretch that knocks everything out of the park towards the end. For those who come across it for the first time, they might not know what will come to them but eventually they'll see that this is a kind of musical experience that doesn't come every now and then; a effortless fusion of soul, classical, folk and anything in between. It will serenade the listener towards submission.

I know I’ve heard at least one of these songs before but cannot place it. I quite enjoyed it. I thought the style was going to get annoying as it is very voice-centric but it didn’t seem to.

Soothing Vibrato.

The voice was nice and the meaning in the lyrics was deep but it was so repetitive. Repetition in each song and even between songs the lyrics seemed the same. After looking the band up I saw that the lead singer had history as a performance artist and that tracks with the vibe of the music (to me). Not something I will be listening to again anytime soon.

You go, sister. This music is beautiful, haunting, & deeply emotional. The only one I can almost compare her voice to is Nina Simone with a dash of Bryan Ferry (Roxy Music). I like how bare and unaffected the music is. Good rich acoustic sounds. It's not overdone. But overall it's a bit slow and dramatic for me.

This stunning piece of art came to me upon its release in 2005. Antony’s voice is both delicate and powerful. “Fistful of Love” is easily one of my all time favorite songs. Antony’s wild emotion in the last minute of the song always wrecks me. The emotional “Spiralling” follows and the tears flow hard. The message behind this album is captured powerfully in its cover: Candy Darling, legendary Andy Warhol actress, on her death bed in 1974 from cancer caused by experimental hormone shots to transition physically from male to female. She lived her truth out loud, to death, with grace, dignity and strength. Candy had more courage in her pinky fingernail than most people can muster up over lifetimes. She may have died young, but she won the test of life in every way possible. Every song on this perfect record is about the joys and heartbreak of the queer experience and rising high within that glorious colorful light. It brings tears to my eyes every single time. Easy 5+ stars and definitive top 3 albums of the 2000’s, and top 10 albums of all time for me.

This isn’t the type of music I normally gravitate towards, but this is pretty beautiful. She has such a unique voice, and it feels like her entire soul is coming out of her body in her vocals. The instrumental compositions are really nice too.

Complete garbage.

Wat heb jij een uniek, maar vervelend stem geluid

When this won the Mercury I was horrified. Since then I've grown to realise I was wrong. This is a work of fragile beauty in a brutal uncaring universe.

Great album one of if not the best by them great vocals and good song writing high 7

Fantastic voice! Sounds like if Tiny Tim and Sampha had a love child. Incredible. Did not know what to expect but someone said it sounds like you’re reading someone’s diary and that fits it perfectly. Cover for the album is so sick too (no pun intended).

Nice sound

Man I guess I really do hate ballads. There were some interesting instrumental bits but nah.

Not my cup of tea really

Very interesting album. There are some songs that are extremely good, and some that aren’t. It appears to be a very personal story of a trans girl, and the lyrics are at times sweet, and delicate, and very moving. The singer has a great voice with a very distinct vibrato - perhaps too much at times. I liked this album. Although I don’t think I’d ever intentionally seek it out to listen from front to back, I probably wouldn’t skip any songs that started playing on a random mix.

Some of the lyrics are intriguing.. particularly on For Today I Am A Boy we hear Anohni openly musing on gender identity a full decade before she transitioned. I didn't enjoy this though, the vocals really grate and they're the main feature really

I much prefer MBWABFYTC to this. I can’t remember ever listening to this before, but this is an extremely my-Mum-coded album. A fine 35 minute album that I will likely never listen to again. Which is better than being a fine 75 minute album that I will likely never listen to again, which a lot of this list is.

Honestly I don't know where I would put this album. 5? 4? 3? Not sure. probably a 9/10 but idk if it's a 5 or not. I will choose 4. But I really loved this album a lot, so yeah. Ratings shouldnt be this hard man, leave me alone Day 52

This was a short listen. Only 4 of the songs from the album are available on Spotify. I liked what I heard, maybe will look for the rest another day.

Not a big fan of his voice, too much vibrato for me.

The piano saved it from being a 1 star

Another day, another album I simply did not need to listen to before I died. This album had a lot of things that I really dislike about alternative/indie music. The lyrics, for instance, made little to no sense for many of the songs. You can try and pretend that they're mysterious or profound or that maybe I just don't understand but seriously has nobody thought that maybe, just maybe, they're just nonsensical? I mean what was the meaning of the last song "Bird Girl"? No sense. Also I could not stand this fool's voice. Good Lord the amount of vibrato was just obscene. If this had been a solely instrumental track this would be an easy 4 maybe even a 5. But it isn't so this gets a 2.

nope-not a fan of the vocals, the vibrato, the lyrics, or most of the instruments. at all. this was a hard one to finish & can't say I'm happy I did

Enjoyable

Nice low key chill album. Fav songs hope there's someone and what can I do

oh for fucks sake, cheer up lad

Was qualifiziert dieses Album zu denen zu gehören, die man während seines Lebens gehört haben sollte? Joke, oder?

I enjoyed this album, there was something familiar about the music even though I had never heard of them.

This album had its moments for me, but overall I’m not a fan. I support her and all she stands for, but just don’t care for her music that much. That being said, I am glad others do!

I liked the first track ("Hope There's Someone") and was optimistic for the rest, but it started to feel repetitive and grating.

Depressing not fun Vibrato on voice was driving me insane. Vlice was not freat for me

strange intonations from the vocalists with little traditional song structure and complex melodic variations that make this an interesting listen, albeit one that is uniquely suited for when you are really sad.

wasn't my cup of tea but gets a 3 for being iconic and for Fistful of Love

Highly dramatic of course, thoroughly haunting, occassionally otherworldly, and a certainly more than a bit strange (mainly as an extension of its originality, though). Holds up really well. The cameos work. Worthy Mercury Prize winner, for sure, and the big-seeming, outta nowhere breakthrough seems wholly plausible/justifiable two decades on. Definitely should not have been exed.

Awesome album . No skips . I loved it so much . Especially how the songs just start of nice with an underlying piano instrumental and some vocals and gradually increase the energy and the instrumentalism . Probably one of my favorite records so far from this list

Hey ich finds mega schön? Aber sini viele vibratos drive me insane? Iwie gspühris halt genau im hals all dir vibratos and makes me feel not good ich weiss ned sorry

boah ich mag nöd wiener singt und au de song gaaar nöd. es isch sehr nüt. my lady story singter uf chillo vo breast amputation und s komische vibrato isch immerno doo. for today i am a boy checki schochli meh. ok antony/anohni isch e trans frau, daher de titel. aber isch au fast 20 johr her. s duo mit boy george isch no cute. what can i do findi recht nice. die letstee dinfau wieder schön

fuck isch da schön hahahaha hope there's someone würdi am liebste brüelle oke klavier nochli am gäse geh alsooo wie gseit huere schön aber wenns so wiitergaht find ichs vlt iwenn chli langwilig :( OHH UND ES CHÖMMED STRIICHER es isch so fucking schön chans gar nöd handle hahahah au you are my sister isch viiill zu schön omg ich bin doch nöd im mentale zuestand zum das chönne handle fuck it da isch e füfi weiss nöd wenn ichs letscht mal vo musig usserhalb vo mim normale musiggschmack so berüehrt worde bin

Beautiful and well-performed. I'll be revisiting. Highlights: My Lady Story, You Are My Sister, What Can I Do?, Fistful Of Love, Spiralling

Syktchill til en lørdags formiddag

I was totally getting "Tiptoe Through The Tulips" vibes from the vocalist here. I feel like this record is getting a bum deal from me because I listened during a hectic day when I was in a crappy mood. It was interesting enough, but not something I would return to for whatever reason. I appreciate the super exposed nature of the vocals and the lack of "spit shine" for sure. "This is me and how I sing" is admirable and gets my respect!

This stinks. This person’s voice is super annoying. I was really tempted to give this album my first 1, but there is some nicely arranged piano on here, which gets it a 1.75, which I’ll round to 2.

My first thought was “Sam Smith vibes”, but it changed as I heard a bit more, and gave some Hozier vibes at some points as well. Regardless I love the voice(s), and I’m glad I know a bit more about Antony/ANOHNI and the Johnsons.

Sounds like a drag queen singing contemporary Christian music. Don’t get me wrong, I watch RuPaul every Friday. Good singers are the exception. Contemporary Christian speaks for itself.

I had no idea what I was getting into at the beginning of this album but I was pleasantly surprised by the end of it. The composition held your attention and parts of this album were hauntingly beautiful. The subject matter was surprising once you got into it, especially for something that came out in 2005 when the world was a lot different. I don’t know how often I’ll return to any of the songs on this album, but it was nice to listen through at least once.

Vibrato: The Musical This is a really bold album to release in 2005. A time when being part of the LGBTQ community could get you ostracized. They don't hide anything in their lyrics. "For today I am a boy" straight up tells what they want. I enjoyed a few songs on here. "Fist Full of Love" was great, but as an overall album it's not my favorite.

But s fan of the vibe. Music is okay?

Wow, what an unique voice and songs. Seems they have been created to last for good.

I’ve tried repeatedly over the years to like this album - and it’s not because it’s a bad one - Anonhi’s voice is surreal and beautiful and the songs have a certain pull - but it just does not resonate with me. It didn’t when it was released and still doesn’t now. I guess you can’t like them all.

Not in my edition of the book! 2005. 4 stars. Gorgeous voice and production, and tracks infused with melancholy. The only things missing are more standout tracks.

Can’t say I’d listen to this more than once but I’m glad I did.

Didn't care for this at all.

Björk's album Volta introduced me to Antony (now Ahoni) & have been enamored with Ahoni since. Also, how am I just learning this is Candy Darling on her death bed? WOW. I don't think this style of music & vocals is for everyone, but I think it's gorgeous and intense. Ahoni has the voice of an angel in despair. If you want to listen to a certifiable bop, check out Hecules and Love Affair's track, "Blind." Ahoni also does a mean Beyonce cover, "Crazy In Love."

Definitely not for me.

This is what I want from this project. Something I never would have listened to otherwise, but was still beautiful in many ways.

God that voice got annoying

I had the most intense experience listening to this album that an album has put me through in a long time. At the beginning I was struggling to find something to latch on to, but by the time it ended I was so into it I immediately played it again, like the kid who survives the roller coaster and after disembarking sprints to get in line to ride again. However, as amazing as it was, I have a funny feeling I may never listen to this album again.

I was really excited to hear this album given all the big names as guest artists, but I found it hard to get past Anohni's voice and style, I think, sadly. Even though it sounds quite a bit different, I was reminded of that Moby album that incorporated vintage recordings, which was an interesting idea but ended up flattening out everything. I can see why this album got dropped in later editions of the 1001 Albums project.

Reminded me a little of Nina Simone. Haunting but not my vibe.

Not bad, but not really my taste in music.

I would probably have never listened to this if it wasnt for this album, but good lord....hard to get through after a stressful day

7/10. Definitely wasn’t in the mood for this type of music but sometimes I am so I’ll rate it as though i was

Very oldschool chamber music with some modern twists and lyrical subject matters of the day. Not quite interesting or good enough to re-visit, but I'll round it up from 3.5 because it's at least something quite different and unexpected.

Strange and moving. Loved the unusual vocals and the orchestration

Nothing if not unique. Gloomy and emotional. His voice was too much at times with the vibrato. Not something I'm probably ever going to listen to by choice unless I'm contemplating suicide.

I was going into I Am a Bird Now expecting to hate it. But it turned out to be rather good and really beautiful at points. The music, the lyrics and the singing all managed to work pretty well together and give the album it's genuinely beautiful vibe. It seemed as if all the songs were gonna be samey but thankfully Fistful Of Love was a nice change. I was expecting to give it a pretty low score but its getting a 3.5 (adjusted to 4, obviously). Best Song: Bird Gerhl Worst Song: For Today I Am A Boy

Not what I was expecting but I liked it

I admire their lyrics and ground breaking but didn’t connect to the music

That vibrato tho.

Never heard of this person. Not my jam.

first listen i don't the music is very good, also i didn't connect with the lyrics and especially the vocal style

Não tinha no deezer, a experiência de ouvir no youtube é bem precária. E as músicas não me empolgaram.

ANOHNI’s work hasn’t quite clicked with me in the past, so going into this one with an open mind. It starts out beautifully, Hope There’s Someone is an outstanding opener. Fistful of Love is another highlight. I enjoyed this quite a lot and I can see why the album is included on this list. It’s not an album I’ll come back to often, but I’m very happy to have experienced it.

Die Songs ok, die Stimme im Grunde auch aber Vibrato inflationär eingesetzt und alles gleich lahm. Man kann ja mal einen traurigen Song machen aber ein ganzes Album?

An interesting record for sure. All of the hate for her voice is unwarranted. Yes, tons of vibrato but it works. For the most part. Obviuosly a deeply personal album and it's sort of haunting and beautiful at the same time. It's short and sweet. Intrumentation is great but her voice doesn't quite live up to what it could have been in a lot of the songs. In the end, I think for such a personal record, it's hard for listeners to really connect with it because most of us have not had these same experiences. That's not to say it's bad by any means, just hard to find anything to really make me want to listen again. One thing that really takes away from this album - it's uneven volume. Dynamics is one thing but I feel like I shouldn't have to adjust the volume level multiple times during an album, let alone during one song, to keep it from becoming too loud or too quiet. 3/5 stars, losing points for the uneven production.

I definitely wasn’t sure I’d come across an album I truly fell in love with on this list but wow. This is totally my taste in music, added to my playlists. The lyrics, the timbre of her voice, the instrumentals. The amazing features. Love

This album was AMAZING I’m so glad it was on the list. I’m adding the first song on my playlist immediately. I loved the instrumental elements. It reminded me of attic monkeys a little bit and I love that

Really enjoying this music but struggling to get past the singer's voice. It's not that I hate his voice, but the constant vibrato hurts and his pitch is slightly missing the target. And since it's *just* off, it feels really noticeable. It feels like a very deliberate choice because the backing vocals are solid, but it's just really hard to get past

Music is good, voice is terrible.

It seems pretty I guess, but I hated nearly every second of actually listening to it

I can see this album being transformative for someone, that someone just isn’t me. I appreciate the drama in the lyrics and music, but the warbling indulgence sometimes just didn’t work for me.

unlistenable

Album no. 7/1001. Probably significant for people who relate to it, but not my thing. Lyrically too earnest and repetitive.

Fabuloso

There is something captivating about Anohni's voice. Mixed with the personal vulnerabilities just grabs you. Fave track: You Are My Sister

Vibrato often rubs me the wrong way, but it largely works here - I didn't find it grating at all. I was gonna comment on "I am a Bird Now" being maybe an unintentional but amusing reference to trans-ness in British English but wikipedia tells me that Anohni was already openly trans when it was released, and what utterly shocked me - she's English!? 😆 Fave tracks - "Hope There's Someone" is a fantastic opener. "Fistful of Love" is the headliner, though.

beautifl and deeply moving music. not really something i would listen to again, but for sure was quality. made me feel like i was at a gay bar at 1pm on a tuesday, with just me and a vocalist rehearsing.

If you want to drone someone to death, play this album. Most of the songs sound exactly the same and draaaaaaag out for what feels like an eternity. I understand that there is an audience and I can understand why this album hits home some some people. Unfortunately I will take a back seat and gladly let others enjoy being vibrated into the next century but the ever ending vibrato. There is only one song on the album that sounds different and I genuinely enjoyed the wind instruments and arrangements of piano and strings. But I could just not get past the lyrics and vocals of this easily forgotten album. Giving two stars for the instruments.

Rentoa ja sielullista. Vähän taiteellista baritooni laululla. Parhaat: Hope Theres Someone, Spiralling, Bird Guhl

Dreary fucking dreary. Musically fine, conceptually fucking miserable. Go listed to Rio by Duran Duran instead, that's a good album

Beautiful but maudlin to an almost unbearable extent

Could have been so much more. Not for me

Begon erg slecht, ben er uiteindelijk wel een beetje naar gaan luisteren. Klonk niet heel slecht

Mágico, el piano envuelve todas las melodías y la voz es magnífica. Romántico en el más amplio sentido de la palabra. Imprescindible. Belleza y paz serían buenas palabra para definirlo.

Jaren geleden een keer live gezien als onderdeel van een muziektheaterproductie over / van Marina Abramović. https://www.theaterkrant.nl/recensie/the-life-and-death-of-marina-abramovic/robert-wilson-marina-abramovic-antony-willem-dafoe/ Die stem vergeet je niet; heel bijzonder. Dit album: paar mooie arrangementen en ook weer prachtig gezongen. Maar je moet er maar net van houden. Het is niet helemaal waar ik zelf naar op zoek ben. Ik heb de plaat wel helemaal geluisterd en vond het mooi maar ook wel pittig, op de 1 of andere manier. Zal ‘m niet snel op repeat zetten.

Pretty hard to listen to. One of those albums that would have been better as a book of poetry or something. The subject matter seems fairly unique so I kind of understand its place on this list, but I'll never listen again.

not bad. again not my kind of music but its ok. short album, with rights issues on spotify south africa so I listened illigally and I am not afraid to say it. labels fuck around and artists suffer.

The most stand-out aspect of this album to me is the very unique voice of the singer which enhances the extremely sorrowful and sad tone of the album. There are heavy themes of death, identity, and the want to escape. The soft and sad piano ballads might be boring in another context, but the haunting nature really brings a huge amount of intrigue to the experience.

Previous Familiarity: Low. Have heard the 2023 album from ANOHNI, but never heard anything from them before that. "I Am a Bird Now" was a journey for me. Upon my first listen, I didn't find much to latch on to. The music is very sparse and melodramatic, which ultimately lends itself to letting the lyrics and the vocalist shine. And in that first listen, I must admit, I wasn't paying as much attention to the lyrics as I should have. ANOHNI's classical chamber style vocals presented too much of a distraction for me to focus on the message. Strikingly beautiful singing is certainly not something that I'm used to in popular music, and it was overwhelming. With a second listen, I was able to put the pieces together. The symphonic swells and the operatic warble are suitable vessels for conveying the of the weight of importance that the lyrics are presenting. ANOHNI's life has been filled with situations and experiences that I haven't shared, but the way that they are able to describe them are so affecting that it's impossible to not sympathize. Heartbreaking throughout, with only occasional moments of joy through personal acceptance of others as well as themselves. The guest appearances are perfect. Boy George, Devandra Benhart, and Lou Reed work well with the oddness that is inherent in the aesthetic, but Rufus Wainwright outshines them all. Wainwright's syrupy voice is a welcome repreve from the brink-of-tears warble of ANOHNI that permeates the entirety of the record. In fact that is unfortunately the standout element of detraction for this album. The overuse of the exaggerated vocal style robs the big emotional moments of their effectiveness. If the mundane verses are sung with the same dramatic flair as the important ones, then how is the listener to determine what is really important. If they picked their spots better, this album would be devastating.

God this voice is annoying. No thanks.

boring

I couldn’t listen to the guys voice. So didn’t get too far it the album.

Beautiful emotional album love it

This album is pretty. Hadn’t heard of it before, a nice little discovery

Brazy... låtarna är kinda tråkiga och vocalsen är inte min grej

This is trash. Why anyone thinks this is groundbreaking or interesting is totally beyond me. Can I give it zero stars?

Not a fan of the "album as therapy" approach. Not music - more like the artist is dealing with their own personal issues. Depressing and upsetting to listen to, and I guess that was the intent. Not my cup of tea.

This is probably someone's most important album. I listened to their albums on release and while I liked them well enough at the time they didn't stay in rotation. It's just not a vibe I like to wallow in too long.

The voice was interesting and soothing at times. Weird lyrics. Wasn't terribly too into it, though.

Not something I’d have picked out for myself but really enjoyed the whole album.

It’s OK, but a little dull.

A great singer. Very sad and emotional but fantastic album

3/5

hij hit wel, vogelman

Vocalmente no me convenció, exceso de vibrato y melodías muy melosas. Musicalmente es un album que está bien, pop melódico con tintes del gospel y del jazz, aunque no muy profundizados. Un álbum muy triste.

Todas las canciones son impresionantes. No sobra nada.

Na nan nan fuck off j’me tape pas 35 minutes de ressort de portes qui zouingne dans l’vide. Jvais lui faire manger son multi layers de vibrato pour que ses pets sonnent plus mélodiques que lui

got that weird alto dude singer voice

Too painful. Too many vibratos. Not really my thing.

Odd: I wasn't expecting some opera like vocals on any album at all on this list. Wasn't the biggest fan but it was definitely something different which I love to hear. Everything else in comparison felt a little washed out and weak. Could've been better balanced.

I wanted to like it, but her voice was just too grating, and I had trouble understanding some of the lyrics.

I did not like this at all. Melancholy and dreary to start, did not enjoy the singers voice. 1 star

Good, not my cup of tea

First track - what is this obnoxious guff? Second track - oh crap, this is basically Rufus Wainwright but with falsetto warbling instead of nasal whining. Let's check the sleeve notes. Oh joy, Rufus Wainwright's a guest performer. Third track - ah. This is a concept album about transsexuality. Great. Good for you, pet. Can you stop singing now please? Track four - no, you're gonna carry on, aren't you? The rest of this album is a hard no from me. I don't need this kind of tosh in my life. The mid-2000s continue to suck giant donkey balls. Jesus, looking back, the global financial crisis came as an actual relief. Actually... Fistful of Love has just come round and is stepping far enough from morose cry-wanking to be actually quite nice, however it leads directly into Spiralling, which ratchets up the self-indulgence and presents what could and should be a nice voice. With a couple of show pony displays, the track and the voice are utterly ruined by the vibrato. The production is pretty good, if only if it didn't sound like it was sung from atop a washing machine at the busiest part of the spin cycle.

Does the woman on the cover remind anyone else of Shaye St. John?

Well I didn't expect much out of this and I guess was a bit surprised. Not really my cup of tea but I could see why others like it.