I Am a Bird Now

'& godsend I don't want to go / To the seal's watershed.' Anohni's voice, w/ vibrato & strength, is a fascinating, tho not always pleasurable, amalgam of Brittany Howard's southern vigor & Kate Bush's avant-garde exuberance - she's, in other words, the direct inheritor of Nina Simone's genius, classical music included, tho she's not as supremely gifted or fully realized as Nina. Who is? But she is believable, & her transgender narratives are both real &, in the dark ages of 2026, as pressing as ever. The Rufus Wainwright track (#6) is a dud (not a surprise), but it's short, just as the record is. If it went on much longer, I wouldn't be as forgiving, but as it is, I'm left moved &, it's a shock to say, in the mood for a (slight) second helping. Well done, sister.

Красивий і місцями доволі heartbreaking альбом.

Started off strong, pretty beautiful singing and song writing. But it didn’t really do much for me or go anywhere

2.5

I don't think the music itself is bad, or even the singing STYLE, but that voice is absolutely horrendous.

Amazing stuff. Also, cannot recommend enough The Unthanks' versions of both You Are My Sister and Today I Am A Boy. Properly magical.

That falsetto was intolerable

Beautifully executed chamber pop anchored by a unique voice. I have heard Anohni’s music sporadically and remember this album making a small splash back in its release time but never gave it the listen it deserved. Anohni’s real talent is using her voice to make you feel emotions you never you would by vocals alone. An album that falls into the “great but may not listen again” category. It can be a little too morose for repeated listens but the two listens I did give it are worth four stars.

Quite a lot of transphobia in the top 1 star reviews which is disappointing but not unexpected. From the thinly veiled to that one guy who says he "can tell that's no woman singing". Not to mention all the geniuses pointing out the (obviously intentional) British slang interpretation of the album's title.

Now that's out of the way, like another reviewer said, the album lives or dies on whether you like the vibrato or not. Personally I thought it added to the emotion. It's a beautiful album. It might not be something I would listen to very often, but I enjoyed my time with it nonetheless. 🏳️‍⚧️

Unique and affecting artist and singer. But for me at least, an album full of it is a few songs too many.

s/o to the oscillating fan the vocals were recorded through

This is awful.

So beautiful it's hard to put into words, but definitely need to be in the right mood for it

It was alright. A solid three. I didn’t not like it.

IiIiIiIiI'm NoOoT sUuUrE iF tHiS aAaAaAlBuM iS fOr MeEeEeEeEeEeEe

Really nothing special. Just a lot of unmemorable songs. Also, I can't stand his voice, personally. The musical choices were pretty dramatic though, I can at least appreciate that.

Musically, this was a competent enough, but unaffecting baroque pop album. Some nice piano exploits, but overall this was a bit too delicate and polished with little that really broke the mould or solemnity at any point, and it was fairly generic / predictable with regards its cycling between quiet and loud passages.

Vocally it was absolutely awful - imagine the geezer from Sleep Token if he was somehow even more over-dramatised, self-important and joyless in his approach to vibrato wailing.

Perfectly fine album

Reminds me of all the things I dislike about Rufus Wainwright and Nick Cave, but for some reason this works for me. Intimate and operatic, emotionally raw but meticulously composed. Slow burning and intense. I think what's so powerful and unnerving about the vocals is the combination of the vibrato's wavering uncertainty and the forceful assuredness of the performance.

Their voice takes a little getting used to. But it was beautiful.

has some interesting moments here and there. it has beautiful piano and strings throughout. It's also has some meaningful lyrics regarding ANTHONI's life and transition, plus longing for someone.

It’s just not that gripping overall.