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Critic Reviews
100
If you let it work its magic, it will -- no matter how unfashionable or cloying it may seem at a glance. It’s music to get absorbed by.
15y
100
After its beauty trails off, one thing is certain. You truly know Antony.
8y
100
A startlingly powerful album meted out with supreme control.
13y
91
The Crying Light — a haunting collection of ballads that play like transmissions from a mournful, elegant alien — nearly equals its predecessor.
10y
90
What emerges by the halfway point of the title track is the sense that you're not listening to just another piano troubadour; you're hearing the oceanic confessions of an artist who in time will be considered one of the most affecting composers of this still young century.
10y
90
Whatever your hopes were after I Am a Bird Now, they have been exponentially exceeded in poetry, music, and honesty here.
15y
88
The Crying Light, reaches out from the band’s investment in gender issues to grapple with nature of a different sort: the earth, familial relationships and a life-force passed on. The scope of the record spans generations, but retains a sense of communion with its listener.
13y
86
The cover of The Crying Light, the third album by Antony and the Johnsons, is strikingly similar to that of its predecessor, 2005's highly-lauded I Am a Bird Now. The latter presented a stark black-and-white shot of transvestite performer Candy Darling lying on her hospital deathbed; this time, we get an even starker image of Japanese Butoh dancer Kazuo Ohno, a hero of bandleader Antony Hegarty since he first spotted her on a poster while studying in France as a teenager. As Ohno leans back, wrinkled and seemingly near death himself, the flower in his hair sits in the same position as the bright blooms that hover above Darling.
15y
84
At the album’s heart is a valediction to the planet so sorrowfully sensual Hegarty seems to be clinging to Mother Nature’s fingertips like a lover.
10y
83
This is a haunting, beautiful record, and one that defies easy summation.
13y
80
Beautifully, and with a sense of keen economy, Antony Hegarty thankfully renders you speechless. Even his sleeves acquiesce.
5y
80
The Crying Light is a truly beautiful record. It’s initial impact is not like that of his previous two albums, but this allows his genuine talent to begin to blossom. There is more to come from Antony.
6y
80
On balance, this third album, linked by Hegarty's strangely disconnected, other worldly warble, confirms him as an artist of genuine stature.
2y
80
That The Crying Light vibrates with confidence will be no surprise to anyone who witnessed last year's remarkable shows at London's Barbican.
8y
80
The Crying Light is not exactly light and happy stuff, but for Antony, it’s a giant step forward down the path toward personal and artistic happiness.
7y
80
Hegarty sounds more in control of his remarkable voice than ever before, and this new restraint suits him. When youβve got this much emotive power at your fingertips, itβs wise to reel it in a bit.
9y
80
It's an ideal January release, time enough for Antony's spacious, textured odyssey to sink in before those Album Of The Year polls come round again.
Print Only
3y
80
The Crying Light shows Antony boldly, indefatigably following his own eccentric star.
10y
80
Finally returning with The Crying Light, Hegarty remains ill-at-ease with the limelight’s blinding gaze; fortunately, he’s retained a penchant for jaw-gaping compositions.
12y
80
The Crying Light is a good album, but it’s not a great one. You can hear Hegarty growing as an artist with a unique (literal and figurative) voice who is trying to execute his vision. Still, I can’t help but feel that a fourth full-length album in this vein will feel like a rehash.
13y
80
The Crying Light shows us that there is one medium of output that will undoubtedly remain his most naturally beautiful, his most perfect fit.
15y
80
With ‘The Crying Light’ Antony And The Johnsons continue to explore the creative boundaries of pop while covering all emotional bases. For that, they should be celebrated.
15y
80
At times, you won't hear a more beautiful album this year, and there are enough heart-stoppingly dramatic moments on here to more than justify all the excited pre-release anticipation.
15y
80
On The Crying Light, Antony acts as a conduit between popular music and the avant-garde, and if that’s not a mark of greatness, what is?
15y
77
The Crying Light may prove to be too precarious to hold up on its own in the future, but for now Antony & the Johnsons have provided a perfect gateway to their music.
11y
70
Antony’s one-of-a-kind tenor is stretched to the point of a whisper on Crying Light.
11y
70
If you were one of the many that loved I Am A Bird Now when it was released, then you'll undoubtedly enjoy this just as much.
10y
70
The Crying Light too often doesn’t feel like it has a sufficient destination, even though it takes some gorgeous side road.
Print Only
3y
70
Antony and the Johnsons' third full-length wisely focuses on the frontman's enormous talent, with Nico Muhly's classical arrangements plinking and waltzing but never overpowering.
13y
60
The album's big problem is not a lack of quality; it's the feeling that you've been here before, or you've been somewhere so like here as to make little difference.
10y
60
Antony Hegarty's tremulous warble is a strange and marvelous instrument — and for many, an acquired taste. The Crying Light, this diva-dude's third album, spotlights his haunting vocals with few distractions, using piano and low-key orchestral arrangements as foils for him to swoop and shiver over.
11y
40
The Crying Light is a record that effectively changes Antony’s character and makes him a difficult entity to relate to, forcing him more into the realm of animatronics than human existence.
15y
Hard to follow what is undoubtedly your greatest LP and your breakout LP and your Mercury Music Award winning LP. But here Anohni and the Johnsons give it a really good go. Sparse and beautiful, but never quite reaching the heights of their second record.
Essential Track - Her Eyes Are Underneath the Ground
So beautiful! Love Anohni’s voice! Wish some of the instrumentations had been a bit grander. Daylight and The Sun was my fav track I absolutely loved the way it built up! Aeon was my least favorite I didn’t feel like it fit onto the album.
This feels weightless and mournful, like grief slowly turning into acceptance. The orchestral arrangements are soft and elegant, while Antony’s voice carries a deep sense of longing and tenderness. It’s a quiet, spiritual album that finds beauty in sadness without ever feeling overwhelming.
haven't ever heard something quite like it ever before, probably should've started with their debut but this in no way left me not interested to hear more of them
For the most part this is a much more laid back album than I Am A Bird Now, and the change is very much welcome and Anohni's voice suits is amazingly. This sounds like it was meant to be played in some underground jazz club in the heart of New York City (I have never been to the USA)
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Track List
| 1 | Her Eyes Are Underneath the Ground 4:23 | 92 |
| 2 | Epilepsy Is Dancing 2:41 | 86 |
| 3 | One Dove 5:34 | 85 |
| 4 | Kiss My Name 2:48 | 87 |
| 5 | The Crying Light 3:17 | 83 |
| 6 | Another World 3:59 | 82 |
| 7 | Daylight and the Sun 6:20 | 81 |
| 8 | Aeon 4:34 | 79 |
| 9 | Dust and Water 2:50 | 81 |
| 10 | Everglade 2:58 | 81 |
Total Length: 39 minutes
Year End Lists
| #16 | / | Pitchfork |
| #18 | / | Spin |
| #22 | / | Treble |
| #24 | / | A.V. Club |
| #33 | / | No Ripcord |
| #34 | / | The Line of Best Fit |
| #35 | / | Amazon |
| #35 | / | Beats Per Minute |
| #36 | / | Cokemachineglow |
| #39 | / | musicOMH |
| #40 | / | MOJO |
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