- Record Label: Secretly Canadian
- Release Date: Jan 20, 2009
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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Whatever hopes you held in the aftermath of "I Am a Bird Now," they have been exponentially exceeded in poetry, music, and honesty here.
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Alternative PressWhat 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. [Apr 2009, p.134]
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Far from a slump, The Crying Light is simply less personal, developed out of nature and stewed in Hegarty's natural showmanship and knack for the unsettling.
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The follow-up to Antony's acclaimed 2005 breakthrough album, "I Am a Bird Now," is perhaps only a less astonishing listen in light of the artist's growing reputation.
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This deeply introspective album is vast in scope while retaining the intimacy of a concert-hall recital.
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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.
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The Crying Light may not be as directly moving or as astounding as its predecessor, it’s a fine album on its own.
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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?
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The Crying Light--a haunting collection of ballads that play like transmissions from a mournful, elegant alien--nearly equals its predecessor.
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Hegarty wrote and helped to arrange all the songs on The Crying Light, and his writing bears the same pensive sensitivity as his singing on what amounts to a spellbinding album.
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As music, it's simply exquisite--more controlled and considered than anything Antony and the Johnsons have done and sure to linger in the minds of listeners for more than a season.
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MojoIt'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. [Feb 2009, p.104]
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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.
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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.
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The Crying Light shows us that there is one medium of output that will undoubtedly remain his most naturally beautiful, his most perfect fit.
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Hegarty sounds more in control of his remarkable voice than ever before, and this new restraint suits him. When you’ve got this much emotive power at your fingertips, it’s wise to reel it in a bit.
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That The Crying Light vibrates with confidence will be no surprise to anyone who witnessed last year's remarkable shows at London's Barbican.
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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.
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Simultaneously sparse and rich, The Crying Light mines maximum intensity from a relatively minimal mix of basic melodies, pithy lyrics, and understated arrangements.
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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.
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Q MagazineEmotion drips from every breath. [Feb 2009, p.118]
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Antony's performances are always classy as well as unequivocally odd.
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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.
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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.
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A startlingly powerful album meted out with supreme control.
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It's heartbreakingly gorgeous, and if it's sometimes easy to miss the club-kid joie de vivre Antony brought to last year's brilliant Hercules and Love Affair album, well, that disc didn't have this one's lush Nico Muhly string arrangements.
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Taken as a whole, this album feels less managed than its predecessor, and more hollow. Also, the lyrics tend toward the ecstatic, largely skipping the teasing questions about gender and identity that lent his previous work additional piquancy.
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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.
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The Crying Light shows Antony boldly, indefatigably following his own eccentric star.
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Under The RadarThe Crying Light too often doesn’t feel like it has a sufficient destination, even though it takes some gorgeous side road. [Winter 2009]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 50 out of 64
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Mixed: 4 out of 64
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Negative: 10 out of 64
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Dec 2, 2021Whatever hopes you held in the aftermath of "I Am a Bird Now," they have been exponentially exceeded in poetry, music, and honesty here.
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Jan 16, 2014
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May 25, 2013