Though there weren’t many other details besides a title, we were still confident enough to include Antony and the Johnsons’ forthcoming LP Swanlights on our list of albums worth buying. A recently issued press release further detailing the effort hasn’t done anything to change our mind.
Due for release on October 12th via Secretly Canadian, Swanlights will consist of 11 tracks billed as “Antony’s most wide-rangingly emotional work to date.” Aforementioned press release continues as follows:
“It is a record that is at moments heartbreakingly tender, and at other times has a joyful gleam to its teeth. Unlike previous work, which was often quite sparsely voiced, on Swanlights the vines in the garden are overgrown and the sound palette has become more exotic; strange percussive elements, John Cale-esque string drones, heavily distorted guitars and symphonic winds and strings thread the song cycle together.”
Of particular highlight is the inclusion of the track “Flétta”, a duet with Björk. (She’s just all over the place these days.)
Along with the standard release of Swanlights, Abrams Image will simultaneously offer a special edition of the record, which will include the CD inside a 144-page hard cover book containing Antony’s paintings, collages, photography, and writing. “Dreamlike and often bleakly environmental, Antony depicts a natural and spiritual world under siege,” they say.
To your top right, you can find a piece of the aforementioned artwork. Below, you’ll find the album’s 11 songs.
Swanlights Tracklist:
01. Everything is New
02. The Great White Ocean
03. Ghost
04. I’m In Love
05. Violetta
06. Swanlights
07. The Spirit Was Gone
08. Thank You For Your Love
09. Flétta (with Björk)
10. Salt Silver Oxygen
11. Christina’s Farm
