Words In Need of Pictures

Antony and the Johnsons’ live album Turning is the denouement to the series of pieces that began as performance art collaboration between Antony Hegarty in 2006 with filmmaker Charles Atlas. In the original, repurposed images of 13 women (“beauties” as Hegarty called them) with a history of difficult life experiences were projected against a backdrop of Hegarty’s sobering and emotional chamber music. Their beauty contradicted their lives, and this juxtaposition was the crux of Turning. Atlas directed a documentary of the tour, and finally, Hegarty released this album of the isolated audio performances from the tour. Whether or not the music alone translates to a work of art itself is dependent upon the listener’s familiarity with the Hagerty; he is either a mesmerizing artist or a bore.

Antony and the Johnsons plays at one speed: first gear. Do not expect to be moved to dance or even nod your head, but if you open yourself up to the experience you may be moved to tears. Turning begins with the premonitory “Everything is New,” which starts with some sparse piano and Hegarty repeating the title over and over again as the music builds, adding strings and eventually percussion, to a haunting crescendo. “My Lord, My Love” tells a story with its music as much as with its lyrics, and Hegarty’s shivering vibrato echoes the desperation that the song exudes. On “Kiss My Name,” we get some drums which does lift the album up slightly, but by this point you have already made your decision of whether or not Antony and the Johnsons is for you.

“Whose Are These” also has some upbeat moments, highlighted by handclaps, but most of the music on Turning is akin to sipping molasses through a straw. Chances are that these numbers paired with emotionally charged images and witnessed by an attentive audience were impactful and successful, but when listening to these seventeen songs straight through, the shtick grows tiresome, especially if your sour cherry on top is the the lethargic (though thankfully brief) “Tears, Tears, Tears.”