I was not expecting anything anywhere near as jaw-droppingly excellent as this, having always preferred Baby Dee of David [no longer Tibet]'s US sub-culture "discoveries." Although the next Baby Dee is apparently due shortly, I Am a Bird Now is going to take some topping in the "music describing the world's misunderstanding of my inner turmoil" stakes.
Despite the well-publicised celebrity contributions to this record (Reed/Wainwright/Banhart - was Vashti Bunyan at the hairdressers?), the reams of reverential jounralism afforded to the exquisite voice and the painfully personal content of the lyrics, for me it is the exceptional and delicate and intricately crafted songs which truly dominate. And no-one dares mention the songs.
The following is typical:
I Am A Bird Now has a strong narrative, the likes of which I haven't heard since Lisa Germano's 1994 masterpiece Geek the Girl. (Peter Hayward, No Ripcord review)
While the narrative exists, it is "strong" only in the fact that it is obvious (in direct comparison to the far subtler (and, musically, far duller) Germano record). In itself, the narrative and the lyrics ("I hope there's someone who will care for me when I'm old") offer little literary or poetic merit precisely because of their self-evidence. Without the tunes, you would run the risk of being left with the shallow, self-indulgent wallowing and warblings of Every(lonely)man. I do not wish to devalue the hardship portrayed in the tale itself, or the courage required to present the story to a public audience; I merely point out that it is not that tale which makes this release so very, very extraordinary; so very, very special.
You see, we do have the tunes. "For Today I Am A Boy," "What Can I Do?," "You Are My Sister," etc., etc. are all wonderful, memorable tunes. There's not an ounce of spare fat on this goose. Concentrating on those songs, I cannot help but recognise an immense talent irrespective of the sexuality or upbringing or suffering of the composer to date. Whereas the music of the debut Durtro release championed the excess and fire of the lyrical imagery, on I Am A Bird Now its constraint acts as a cotton-wool cushion and balance to the narrator's initial turmoil and developing self-awareness.
Antony has taken his time (5 years) to create this suite of songs and has confessed that he deliberately sought to simplify the musical style and to dress-down the histrionics of his debut release. He has given us a rare gem of a record.
