John Doe
CRITIC
Empire
I Am A Bird Now
The sum of a band's ambition is usually expressed in the shape of a predecessor that the band hopes to emulate. The name gives an indication of the band's direction and possibly how good it is or at least want to be. So, for instance, when a band aspires to be the new Beatles, you have to admire the goal which the band has set for itself. The Beatles are, after all, one of the greatest four-piece bands ever. The pop greats who popularised the two-guitars, bass and drum combo. Trouble brews when, well, the target that a band aims towards ain't that great in the first place.
Kasabian has, more or less, always aspired to be the new Oasis. Now, there is nothing wrong with proletarian populist rock and roll. The only problem is that Oasis was the creator of a vastly promising debut, a follow-up that only partially fulfilled that promise and numerous shite records that came after those. In effect, while Oasis might be a good band, it isn't a great one. If you only set yourself out to be adequate, what does it say yourself?
Unique to themselves, Kasabian appears to be the only band right now trying to revive 90s baggy. Its self-titled debut contained sounds borrowed from the Stone Roses, Happy Mondays and countless alumni of Madchester. Personally, I never had a problem with that (although innumerable critics seem to despise Kasabian for that - why?). Every band is derivative. What separates the wheat from the chaff are those who can take their influences and match its best stride for stride or transcend it, producing something better and/or different. Kasabian, true to the members' implied ambitions perhaps, never come close to this.
Empire, the band's sophomore album, begins with its title track. It is a song that aims for the stratospheric epic with booming beats and strident syncs wrapped around a half-decent chorus. In truth, it is not bad...the problem is...the album tumbles headlong downhill from here onwards.
Shoot The Runner marries Gary Glitter glam-rock bombast with syntheised beats and handclaps, but it has a melody that even tone-deaf people would be hard-pressed to appreciate. Sun Rise Time Flies so blatantly rips Primal Scream off their XTMNTR album that it is a wonder why Bob Gillespie does not sue. Indeed Gillespie should really sue for damages, Sun Rise Time Flies sounds like a reject from XTMNTR that would never have been released for fear of tarnishing Primals Scream's good name (not that the Scream didn't manage that on their own already). Much of what follows can, at best, be described as depressing.
Apnoea sounds like a diluted approximation of the Chemical Brothers-Noel Gallagher collaboration Setting Sun and Setting Sun wasn't even that good a song to start with so it is a wonder why they chose to copy it then. And everything else that comes after this song repeats the modus operandi...all syncs and beats fury without the tunes nor words to match. British Legion might offer a respite with its acoustic balladry, but when it comes to melodic hooks, it still doesn't have a leg to stand on. This is a comment that could possibly be applied to many of the eleven tracks housed in this record. How an album can get by with such tunelessness is quite astonishing.
Empire isn't a good album, not even close to it by a million miles. Yet Kasabian might possibly still shift truckloads of this record, but...maybe that is the sum of its ambition...to sell large quantities of unimaginative loutish booze rock. Oasis kinda did that, so why can't they? But be careful what you aim for because you don't know where you might end up. Where is Oasis now?
3.5/10
It has been said that beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development, invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears. And within the first strains of a piano and the quivering introduction of that voice in its opening song, Hope There's Someone, there are hints that such a form of beauty may exist in the work that is I Am A Bird Now. It is not a false hope. For by the end of this supremely moving album, it'd have been proven that Edgar Allen Poe was right. Beauty in its topmost form can, indeed, move sensitive souls to tears. And I Am A Bird Now is such exquisitely beautiful.
I Am A Bird Now is the second album by Antony & The Johnsons. A band that will not sound familiar to most mainstream listeners, but mark my words, should be taken note of. Readers, while I'd love to narrate and share with all of you, the background and journey of the remarkable and unique character that is Antony, I will spare these words to simply cut to the chase. Make no mistake, reading up and knowing about his background will surely enrich the experiencing of this record, no doubt. But if you are a discerning listener, you will not allow such minutiae to distract you from what's the real showstopper. Just listen to Antony's voice and delivery. Everything else can be superfluous.
So much has been said (and praised) about Antony and his vocals that further descriptions or accolades from me are unnecessary. Quivering, stockpiled with oodles of raw intensity and emotion, his is a unique vocal instrument that's male and female both at once. It's Nina Simone and Jimmy Scott rolled into an indescribable and amazing hybrid. Simply put, Antony is one of the most strikingly beautiful voices of our generation.
Having an amazing gift of a voice can only carry one so far. Shorn of a body of great songs and words around which the voice can wrap itself, such an extraordinary talent would still be squandered. It is thankful, hence, that this is not the case in I Am A Bird Now. There is nary a bad song on this album. The only song I couldn't get myself to appreciate was Free At Last, but that is attributable to the simple fact that I am not a fan of spoken word.
As forementioned, the album opens with Hope There's Someone, a song that expresses a morbid fear that "Hope there's someone who'll take care of me when I die", a sincere wish that "Hope there's someone who'll set my heart free. Nice to hold when I'm tired." It has got to be just about the most beautifully heartbreaking way to open an album. Elegiac verses from a heart that is sunk and broken, yet still hopeful. And sung by a voice in such emotive intensity that it is indisputable that the protangonist knows his way through such heartaches.
Hope There's Someone is a fine opening not merely because of its inherent quality, but also for the fact that it provides an inkling of what is to come. A cogent mix of pain, despair, fear, longing, hope and other emotions immersed in disparate tales about physical abuse and amputation, gender identity (or is it confusion?), needy love, freedom (of various kinds) and God. Beauty is a fragile gift.
Even in such redoubtable company, there are shining moments here that are worth highlighting. The ballad duet with Boy George, You Are My Sister, is towering for its performances and touching for its subject matter, sentiments and context. Imagine two grown men singing to each other "You are my sister and I love you. May all of your dreams come true". There is an acknowledgement of love, camaraderie and hope here that is transcendent, whether you agree with its topic or not. Similarly, For Today I Am a Boy holds the hope that "One day I'll grow up, I'll be a beautiful woman. One day I'll grow up, I'll be a beautiful girl. But for today I am a child, for today I am a boy." This is a song that dares the audience to look directly into the hopes and dreams of the man mouthing these words. It is a direct gateway to this man's deepest recesses of his soul and it is poetic.
Fistful of Love, another powerful song has such a gorgeous melody that you have to do a double take at its subject matter. "And I feel your fists and I know it's out of love. And I feel the whip and I know it's out of love. And I feel your burning eyes burning holes straight through my heart." A person who loves his/her lover so much that he/she is unable to tear himself/herself away from the other party no matter the violence and hurt inflicted upon him/her. The average person may not recognise the emotions at work here but for the people who do, this must surely be the song about their lives.
I Am A Bird Now sees various prominent artistes, like Rufus Wainwright, Lou Reed (a long-time fan of Antony), Boy George and Derendra Banhart, all come together to collaborate with the inimitable entity that is Antony, only to see each one of them comprehensively overshadowed by him. Meanwhile, the Johnsons provide able backing and arrangement for the tunes. Sparse, gentle and rarely drawing attention to themselves, it is the perfect complement to Antony's singing. After all, why try to distract from the best thing on this album? And this is, incontrovertibly, one of the best albums of recent times.
8.5/10
