00-anohni-hopelessness-2016-erp.nfo
Artist | Anohni
Title | Hopelessness
Genre | Indie Format | Album
Source | CDDA Time | 41:40
Label | Rough Trade Store | 2016
Catalog | RTRADCD823 Rip | 2016
Bitrate | 244 kbps Size | 76.69 MB
Freq | 44.1 kHz Encoder | Lame 3.98.4
01. Drone Bomb Me 4:11
02. 4 Degrees 3:51
03. Watch Me 3:26
04. Execution 3:38
05. I Don't Love You Anymore 5:00
06. Obama 4:11
07. Violent Men 2:10
08. Why Did You Separate Me From The Earth 3:36
09. Crisis 4:42
10. Hopelessness 3:54
11. Marrow 3:01
UK-born, California-raised Anohni (born Antony Hegarty) felt like the
consummate outsider until coming face to face with the image of Boy George
on the cover of Culture Club's 1982 debut album "Kissing To Be Clever".
Eight years later, Hegarty relocated to New York City and found a world
more accepting of avant-garde sensibilities and sexual ambiguity. An early
incarnation was the cabaret ensemble Blacklips, modeled after Blue
Velvet-era Isabella Rossellini, and the drag queen who graced the cover of
Soft Cell's 1982 single "Torch". Hegarty formed Antony And The Johnsons in
1998, and the band released its self-titled debut on David Tibet's Durtro
label in 2000, followed by an appearance on the Lou Reed albums "The Raven"
and "Animal Serenade", plus a tour with Reed throughout 2003.
The sweet, beautiful sadness of Anohni's voice has always been only half
the story in her best work. On her recordings with Antony And The Johnsons,
the dramatic swell of Anohni's voice was wedded to graceful melodies and
lyrics that told deeply emotional, humanistic tales of the struggle for and
acceptance of love in a hostile world. Anohni's music so often comprises
elegant but passionate stories of the personal made public that her first
album after adopting her new name, 2016's "Hopelessness", comes as
something of a shock. The nuanced, organic musical accompaniment of
Anohni's most celebrated work has been replaced with cool, often aggressive
electronic soundscapes created by co-producers Hudson Mohawke and Oneohtrix
Point Never.
And instead of singing tales of love and desperation, here Anohni moves
from the personal to the political, taking on global warming, drone
warfare, government intrusion in our lives, violence in all its forms, and
her frustrations with Barack Obama's presidency in no uncertain terms.
While one could dance to some of these tracks if it were absolutely
necessary, the music feels harsh and apocalyptic more often than not. And
though Anohni's voice remains strong and passionate, a thread of bitterness
runs through most of these performances (not inappropriate, given the
themes of the songs).
"Crisis" and the title song are two of the few moments here where the
warmth and compassion that were Anohni's trademarks are audible, even as
they're contrasted with the jagged surfaces of Mohawke and Point Never's
music. "Hopelessness" is a powerful and uncompromising work, but it's also
purposefully difficult, and demands the listener accept it entirely on its
own terms. This music leaves no doubt that Anohni remains a strikingly
talented vocalist and songwriter, but where the warm heart of 2006's "I Am
A Bird Now" reached out to the listener, "Hopelessness" instead throws up a
wall as it launches an assault on an unjust world. Anohni's targets deserve
all the fury she unleashes upon them, but that doesn't make this any easier
to engage with, even if you agree with what Anohni has to say.
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