Name: I Am A Bird Now
Brand: Antony and The Johnsons

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

RTRADLP223

Colour

Black

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2010-11-30

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

PIAS

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

5050159822317

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Total Cap

1 / Extended format: No / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No / black

RTRADCD223

2007-07-20

5050159822324

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1 / CD / Extended format: No / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

Artist

Antony and The Johnsons

Genre GB

Alternative / Modern

Label GB

Rough Trade

<p>Antony and The Johnsons is an experimental/chamber pop musical collective that was founded in New York City in 1995 by English singer-songwriter Anohni. Originally known as Antony, the group gained recognition for their unique sound and emotional performances. After going on hiatus in 2015, they reunited in 2023 under the name Anohni And The Johnsons. With their haunting melodies and powerful lyrics, Antony and The Johnsons continue to captivate audiences worldwide.</p>

Rough Trade is a multinational label that was started by Geoff Travis in 1976 as a London record-shop. It quickly grew into an independent label and distributor, collaborating with notable labels such as 4AD, Factory Records, and One Little Indian. The label's catalogue numbering system for singles/EPs included prefixes like RT### and RTT###CD for different formats. Albums were numbered sequentially as ROUGH### with extensions for different formats.In the early 1990s, Rough Trade faced financial difficulties after expanding into the US market. The US branch was shut down and the German branch ended up in the Zomba Music Group. One Little Indian provided financing and took over the label in the UK, retaining ownership of key releases like A.R. Kane albums. Geoff Travis eventually regained control of Rough Trade around 1999–2000 and re-launched it alongside Tugboat Records.

Back In Stock

Antony and the Johnsons' second full-length recording, (and Mercury Award wiining) is the haunting and affecting I Am a Bird Now - a far more intimate affair than their debut. Antony's bluesy parlor room cadence is more upfront here, resulting in a listening experience that's both exhilarating and disquieting. "Hope There's Someone" is a sombre opener, and its plea for companionship, augmented by a sparse piano/vocal arrangement that rises into the air by song's end in a swirl of multi-tracked harmonies, is ultimately uplifting. This formula is applied to much of the record and never ceases to elicit honest emotion from either Antony or his numerous guests. Rufus Wainwright takes the lead on "What Can I Do?," a languid meditation on death that conjures up images of rainy streets, lonely lampposts, and cigar smoke - short, (under two minutes) but alluring, like the cover of a Raymond Chandler novel. Boy George joins Antony for a duet on the soulful and empowering "You Are My Sister," Devendra Banhart lends his warbly tenor to the lush "Spiraling," and Lou Reed plays noodly guitar and recites an anonymous poem on the mischievous "Fistful of Love." It's a testament to Antony's skill as a writer and arranger that these guest appearances are completely devoid of pretense, and while each artist is reverent to the source material, it's still Antony's show, as the most powerful moments on I Am a Bird Now are his.

I Am A Bird Now

Music GB

Buy Antony and the Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now (Vinyl, CD) now from Rough Trade - independent purveyors of great music, since 1976.