At times haunting, at times beautiful, at all times brilliant.
It has been all-too established that Antony Hegarty is no ordinary artist. He is at times quite literally the living incarnation of his work. Earning much critical acclaim with 2005's I Am A Bird Now, a devastatingly beautiful meditation on his struggle with the issue of gender, Hegarty has continued to produce contemplative, arresting music, gaining more and more of a reputation for himself as a consistent, unique talent. Along the way, he has collaborated with Lou Reed, Rufus Wainright, Devandra Banhart, Boy George, Joan as policewoman, Bjork to name a few, and this summer he curated London's Meltdown Festival. Cut the World is his second live effort, and his first with an orchestra behind him, drawing material from each of his albums, as well as two new tracks.
The album opens with the two new tracks: Cut the World and Future Feminism. The former is sedated and haunting, with minimal but effective lyrics. The latter is a seven-minute spoken word track. Usually, I must confess, I would skip these, but I wouldn't skip this one if I were you. In it, Hegarty talks very engagingly and reveals himself to be quite the raconteur. He opens by admitting that he's 'spent all day thinking about the moon', and goes on to talk about his belief in the need for a shift to 'female forms of governance', and 'more oestrogen-based thinking'. A diversion from the music, yes - but an interesting one, and it is (and for dedicated fans I'm sure it will be also) a genuine pleasure to hear the artist speak.
From here on in, it is live, orchestral interpretations of familiar material, continuing the theme throughout the record. Every track sounds better or at least rivals the original. You are My Sister sounds especially beautiful in its rendered version, as does Swanlights and Another World. It is also made abundantly clear on every track that Antony Hegarty possesses one of the finest and most powerful singing voices in music today, and if anyone was worried that he wouldn't be able to carry it off as well live, they needn't be: he sings powerfully and beautifully throughout. The rest of the tracks just flow easily from one into another, at times lovely, at times haunting, but at all times brilliant. Kiss My Name even sounds celebratory and is a joy to behold.
Cut the World shows an artist at the top of his game, as well as one that I would wager relishes the opportunity of playing live. With live music being the best kind of time for an artist to show an audience exactly what they want to at that particular time, it is refreshing to see one that takes their songs and rearranges them, as well as using the opportunity to make their beliefs known to the audience. This record will also continue to cement Antony Hegarty's place as one of the most talented, unique voices in music at the moment.