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January 30, 2008
The Love Affair Continues...
I'm tempted to apologize for the continuing stream of Hellenic hype but hey, this is a music blog, and any so-called "music lover" who doesn't become enraptured to the point of gratuitous repeat from time to time should be the object of intense skepticism. And after wading into the now circulating full length Hercules & Love Affair LP, I'm afraid an inoculation for disco fever will not be forthcoming.
Hercules & Love Affair - "Raise Me Up"
First, to temper expectations, I have to stipulate that this song is not the equal for the previously posted "Blind." I say that not in disappointment but as mathematical fact. That is the sort of single artists spend a whole career trying to live up to, let alone equal in a single disc. But the collaboration between producer Andrew Butler and the very strange man known as Antony provides a handful of highlights throughout the rest of the record. If the stellar non-Antony strut, "Hercules' Theme" already has a lock on its silver medal, Hercules & Love Affair's penultimate track "Raise Me Up," probably gets the bronze.
I'm not quite sure why I haven't been able to get behind Antony and the Johnsons records. I made a snarky Aaron Neville comparison last week, but that's probably more dismissive than strictly necessary. I guess I could never wrap my head around the intense vulnerability in Antony's songs as delivered in such an operatic manner. There was just a fundamental disconnect between the virtuoso performance and the lyrical unease that left me cold.
Set to Butler's beats, his quavering pipes have a much different contextual meaning. In H & LA tracks, Antony plays the part of fantasy diva--personally meek, but empowered by the democracy of the dance club. "Raise me up/ to dance on the hollow of your hand," he begs his godly beat merchant. That prayer is met with an impeccably vintage disco throb, that's punctuated by sneaky key twinkles and sublimely buttery horn blasts. And perhaps simple tempo can't be discounted as the key factor. Without a glacial pace to toy with, Antony doesn't have time for tortured ululation. Reduced by necessity to slight Bryan Ferry bleating, the strength of his vocal gift is all the more easily enjoyed.
Posted by Jeff Klingman at January 30, 2008 07:00 PM
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Comments
I can't wait for the official release!
Posted by: Angel at January 31, 2008 07:00 PM
