I Am a Bird Now | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | February 1, 2005 | |||
Recorded | 2004 | |||
Genre | Chamber pop [1] | |||
Length | 35:27 | |||
Label | Secretly Canadian | |||
Producer | Anohni | |||
Antony and the Johnsons chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from I Am a Bird Now | ||||
|
I Am a Bird Now is the second album by New York City band Antony and the Johnsons, released on February 1, 2005 by Secretly Canadian. After it won the 2005 Mercury Prize, the album shot up the UK albums chart from #135 to #16 in one week, the biggest jump in the history of the prize. [2] As of September 2011, UK sales stood at 220,000 copies. [3]
The album features guest appearances by Rufus Wainwright ("What Can I Do?"), Devendra Banhart, Joan Wasser and by lead singer Anohni's childhood heroes Boy George and Lou Reed. [4] The cover is a photograph by Peter Hujar of Warhol superstar Candy Darling on her deathbed (aptly titled "Candy Darling on Her Deathbed"). [5]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 88/100 [6] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [7] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+ [8] |
The Guardian | [9] |
Los Angeles Times | [10] |
Mojo | [11] |
NME | 7/10 [12] |
Pitchfork | 8.6/10 [13] |
Rolling Stone | [14] |
Spin | A− [15] |
I Am a Bird Now received very positive reviews. On the review aggregate site Metacritic, the album has a score of 88 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim". [6]
Drowned in Sound 's Anthony Gibbons gave the album a score of 10/10, writing "It's not an exaggeration. This isn't hype. I Am A Bird Now is a beautiful, emotive, glorious, and sometimes sinister album that will top many a critic's list come the end-of-year polls, and justifiably so." [16] Tiny Mix Tapes also gave the album a perfect score, writing "This music grabs a hold of you and doesn't let go. It feels timeless and gorgeous and bigger than life. It may not be 'soul' in the strict, music appreciation 101 sense, but it could make even the most jaded atheist approach a metaphysical regard... I'd put on my critic's cap and dive into scrutiny, but I am too enraptured by this artist's music." [17] Pitchfork 's Brandon Stosuy praised the vocals, writing "The ultimate draw is [Anohni's] voice, and within the first two seconds of the album, it should be very clear to even the most unaware newbies that [Anohni] has an amazing Nina Simone/Brian Ferry [sic]/Jimmy Scott vibrato, a multi-octave siren that would sound painfully lovely no matter what [she] was saying." [13]
The album has appeared on several end of year lists. Mojo named I Am a Bird Now the best album of 2005. [18] Pitchfork ranked the album #5 on its list of the top 50 albums of 2005. [19] On the same website, the track "Hope There's Someone" was ranked #28 on their list of the Top 500 Songs of the 2000s and was selected as 2005's best single. [20] [21] In 2019, the album was ranked 40th on The Guardian's 100 Best Albums of the 21st Century list. [22]
All tracks are written by Anohni
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Hope There's Someone" | 4:21 |
2. | "My Lady Story" | 3:33 |
3. | "For Today I Am a Boy" | 2:36 |
4. | "Man Is the Baby" | 4:09 |
5. | "You Are My Sister" | 3:59 |
6. | "What Can I Do?" | 1:40 |
7. | "Fistful of Love" | 5:52 |
8. | "Spiralling" | 4:25 |
9. | "Free at Last" | 1:36 |
10. | "Bird Gerhl" | 3:14 |
The following people contributed to I Am a Bird Now: [4] [5]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Year | Song | Peak positions | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK [36] | |||||||
2005 | "Hope There's Someone" | 44 | |||||
2005 | "You Are My Sister" | 39 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Norway (IFPI Norway) [37] | Gold | 20,000* |
Sweden (GLF) [38] | Gold | 30,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [39] | Gold | 100,000^ |
United States | — | 73,000 [40] |
Summaries | ||
Worldwide | — | 350,000 [41] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Anohni and the Johnsons is a music ensemble originally based in New York City that presents the work of English singer-songwriter Anohni and her collaborators. The band released their self-titled debut album in 2000. Their second album, 2005's I Am a Bird Now, was certified Gold in the United Kingdom, Sweden and Switzerland; it also was awarded that year's UK Mercury Prize.
The Magic Numbers is the debut album from English pop rock band the Magic Numbers. It was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize in 2005. Songwriting duties were taken by Romeo Stodart as was much of the musical composition and arrangement. It incorporated the earlier single release of "Hymn for Her" as a hidden track. The album incorporates many folk elements within the main indie sound which resounds throughout. The album also reflects many elements of the writers' early childhood dreams, tales of their love life and desperation of youth. For example, "Love Me Like You", the best known single of the album, illustrates the difference of feeling in their love for each other.
Aerial is the eighth album by English singer-songwriter and musician Kate Bush. It was released as a double album in 2005, twelve years after her 1993 album The Red Shoes.
Anohni Hegarty, styled as ANOHNI, is an English-born singer, songwriter, and visual artist. She has presented solo work and as the lead singer of the band Anohni and the Johnsons, formerly known as Antony and the Johnsons.
Cripple Crow is the fifth album by American-Venezuelan psychedelic folk musician Devendra Banhart released on September 13, 2005 on XL Recordings. It was his first release on the label XL Recordings. The cover references the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover.
Noah's Ark is the second studio album by American musical group CocoRosie, released by Touch and Go Records on September 13, 2005. The album features collaborations with various musicians, including Anohni, Devendra Banhart, and Spleen.
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not is the debut studio album by English rock band Arctic Monkeys, released on 23 January 2006 in the United Kingdom and on 21 February 2006 in the United States by Domino Recording Company. Preceded by the chart-topping singles "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" and "When the Sun Goes Down", the album also contains re-recorded versions of both tracks from the band's debut EP, Five Minutes with Arctic Monkeys (2005). It is the only Arctic Monkeys album to feature bassist Andy Nicholson, as he left the band shortly after the album's release.
Volta is the sixth studio album by the Icelandic singer Björk, released on 1 May 2007 by One Little Indian Records. It features contributions from multiple artists, including Björk's longtime collaborator Mark Bell and the producers Timbaland and Danja.
Hercules and Love Affair is the debut studio album by American electronic music band Hercules and Love Affair, released on March 10, 2008 by DFA Records. The album was produced by Andrew Butler and Tim Goldsworthy. Andrew Raposo and Tyler Pope contributed bass to the album, while Anohni co-wrote and performed vocals on select songs.
The Crying Light is Antony and the Johnsons' third studio album and the follow-up to the band's widely acclaimed second LP, I Am a Bird Now. The album was released on January 19, 2009, and preceded by lead single, "Another World", released through Secretly Canadian on October 7, 2008. The Crying Light features orchestral arrangements by Anohni and Nico Muhly.
"Hope There's Someone" is a song by Antony and the Johnsons, released on June 7, 2005, through Rough Trade Records and Secretly Canadian. The song is the lead single from Antony and the Johnsons' second studio album I Am a Bird Now and considered one of their signature songs. In October 2011, NME placed the track at number 134 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". Pitchfork named it the 28th best song of the 2000s and the #1 single of 2005.
End Times is the eighth studio album by American rock band Eels released on January 19, 2010. End Times is the second in a trilogy of concept albums starting with 2009's Hombre Lobo and finishing with Tomorrow Morning, released later in 2010.
Swanlights is the fourth studio album by Antony and the Johnsons, released on October 12, 2010 worldwide through Secretly Canadian, and October 11, 2010 in the United Kingdom through Rough Trade. To accompany the album release, the band has produced a 144-page art book also titled Swanlights, which includes paintings, collages, photography and writing by Anohni. The album was preceded by lead single/EP Thank You for Your Love, released on August 30, 2010 in the UK and 1 September in the US.
James Blake is the debut studio album by English musician James Blake. It was released in both the United Kingdom and the United States on his own label, ATLAS, supported by A&M Records, on 4 February 2011. The release was supported with the release of its first single, "Limit to Your Love", on 28 November 2010.
The Hunter is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Mastodon. Released through Roadrunner Records on September 26, 2011, in the UK and one day later in the US via Reprise Records, The Hunter is their first release with producer Mike Elizondo. In its first week of release in the UK, the album reached number 19 on the UK Albums Chart and position number 10 on the Billboard 200 chart selling over 39,000 copies in the first week. As of December 2011, The Hunter has sold over 75,133 copies in the United States.
Cut the World is a live album by Antony and the Johnsons, recorded in Copenhagen and released in August 2012.
Turning, full title Turning: A Film by Charles Atlas and Antony is a documentary musical art film made by video artist Charles Atlas in collaboration with British-American artist Anohni and her band Antony and The Johnsons.
Purple is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Baroness. It was released December 18, 2015 through the band's newly founded label Abraxan Hymns. It is the first album to be released by the band following their involvement in the 2012 bus accident that left nine people injured; it is also the first album to feature new band members Nick Jost and Sebastian Thomson, playing bass/keyboards and drums respectively and the last album to feature Pete Adams before his departure from the band in 2017.
Hopelessness is the debut solo album by British-American artist Anohni, frontwoman of Anohni and the Johnsons, released on 6 May 2016 on Secretly Canadian, Rough Trade, and Hostess. Featuring co-production by Hudson Mohawke and Oneohtrix Point Never, the album departs from the chamber pop style of her previous work, instead exploring an electronic sound and engaging directly with political and environmental themes in the form of protest songs.
My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross is the fifth studio album by Anohni and the Johnsons, formerly known as Antony and the Johnsons. It was released on July 7, 2023, by Secretly Canadian. The album was co-produced by Jimmy Hogarth, and features contributions from Leo Abrahams, Chris Vatalaro, Samuel Dixon, and Rob Moose.