Review:

on 2008-04-02 xtal Said:

I'd like to nominate Hercules and Love Affair for a new IDM mantle: Incandescent Disco Music.

Disco, to me, is a word that conjures up a few images: the 1970s, popular culture backlash, and a left behind (but not forgotten) genre of music. Now I wasn't alive in the 1970s, so I don't know all about what went down at that time. I don't claim to know more than the average bear, but I do try and keep up with the music scene, past and present. So if I'm to start making educated guesses at what exactly happened to the short-lived formidable monster that was Disco, here is what I guess at:

The top-of-the-list most well known fact is this: Disco fucked with Rock. Rock is to music genres what Christianity is to religion; if you fuck with it, it'll get all gnarly and rain down brimstone and piss & vinegar on your ass until you are nothing but a Wayne Szalinski experiment gone wrong. It is a large beast not to be trifled with. It doesn't like challengers, and that's that.

But silly Disco ... just when it was gaining the upper hand, it got all cocky and Rock-like and thought it could just waltz in and sit on the throne. Poor, poor Disco. The behind-the-scenes writers may have been doing great things, and the B-listers may have noticed this and stood by them, but in the end they were all trampled because of the actions of those damn A-list actors. They thought they could forsake their pals. Well... no point in another paragraph of rambling. You know what happened.

Now, onto my era of life. I've wondered before, 'why has no one ever tried to seriously revive Disco, aside from a quick cash-in on the singles charts?' Whyyyy?! Is it not so utterly obvious that the mainstream is ready for a change from the so-very-tired formulas of testosterone-injected rock bands, dumbass reality show divas, the "world music" fad (lol) and no-talent gangster-rappers and techno artists (whom I might add also forsake their origins) ruling what's left of radio and MTV? Dance turned into Disco, Disco turned into Disco-Rock, Disco-Rock turned into John Travolta, back into Dance music, then into ...uh where are we... oh right, then into House music? Then into... whatever. I don't know. But why hasn't anyone just tried to start the damn thing for themselves again? Let me rephrase that: Why hasn't anyone succeeded? Once again, I'm not a music critic/historian. I don't have the luxery of getting paid to listen to every album made by every act ever. But I do know that Hercules and Love Affair succeeds as an album to legitimately move Disco forward instead of just moving it to the bank.

To the music! If you've listened to Antony before, most likely via Antony and the Johnsons like myself, then the opener here, "Time Will", should seal, sign and deliver the verdict for you. On I am a Bird Now (which took many listens to absorb) his voice had a power that also carried with it sorrow and fragility. On Hercules and Love Affair his voice is simply power. Power and confidence. And I don't toss that word around like certain American Idol judges. In fact, if you watch reality television you probably hear the word 'confidence' about two-hundred times a day. No, this is not bullshit confidence, but the real stuff. This man is so confident that we should all be dancing and grooving our feet off that I'm almost scared to sit down and spin this one with a pair of headphones. In fact, I can pretty much say I'm Antony's bitch. Actually, I'm pretty certain that around 5:05 of "Easy" he tells me to go make him a grilled cheese sandwich with bacon. What's that, Antony? You want ketchup on the side? Yes sir! The fun continues with the bumpin' "Hercules Theme" (which is free everywhere, so you'd better be listening to it right now) and the Video Dance Party-worthy "You Belong" (we get a little more Antony here, mmm mmm).

Sorry, I'm in love with this man. He gives me a reason to think that all other music isn't shit after I listen to Arthur Russell. But I should mention the producers, as this is quite a well-produced album. Lead gurus Tim Goldsworthy and Andy Butler have a fine time at the helm here, and all I can really say is that it's another quality effort from the DFA ranks. It sounds just as sharp and fresh as last year's Sound of Silver. Andy Butler is actually THE dude behind HaLA and I would like him to come play music at my house. Please accept my invitation for your company, Mr. Butler. Another side one highlight, "Athene", is given so much love that it actually sounds like it could have been made in any one of the last 35 years, and probably the next 35 as well.

Another one you don't have an excuse to miss out on is "Blind" aka the bestest song of 2008. This baby is all over YouTube (well, probably 3 or 4 times, but I'm trying to hype this up some) and it features arguably the most hypnotic, sexy, masculine and feminine vocal track I have ever listened to. Thank you again, Antony. It's perfectly centered at the apex of the album, have the right amount of build preceeding and comedown following; it just does its thing so well, I can't sit still while I hear this. From here things progressively slow down until the second last track, but the whole isn't compromised. While Antony's vocal tracks are (obviously) my favourites everything here is nothing short of brilliant, and it doesn't overstay its welcome either; bonus marks for that.

I give a high recommendation to my #1 of Q1 '08. As much as it sounds like I'm just loving my own hype around this album, I really feel that even if it doesn't gain much popularity/acclaim in the present, time will be kind to this debut outing and it will be loved down the road as one of the better dance records of today (or yesterday, rather).
Rating: 9/10