Antony And The Johnsons - 'You Are My Sister' (Rough Trade Records) Released 21/11/05

Lifting one of their highlights from the Mercury Music Prize winning album 'I Am A Bird Now', 'You Are My Sister' sees Boy George joining mic-duties for vocal-harmonies, Antony's voice semi-spoken/semi-sung - quivering and quavering with extended sentences and detailing the passing the time, the uniqueness of their relationship, the chorus declaring sibling-love, The Johnsons striking a low-strung melody - atmospheric and poignant - a personal track, like the brushing of someone's hair. There's something akin to a forest-animal in Antony's demeanour that bring to mind 'the elk' - rarely glimpsed, shadowy. Decent songs accompany with 'Poorest Ear' showing the band rounded like a gypsy-folk act - accomplished with piano, clarinet and violin; 'Forest Of Love' - song-driven and string-laden; and 'Paddy's Gone', a plaintive song about the emptiness of heart that accompanies loss, "...Paddy's gone, for a long time...". Overall, 5 tracks of well-crafted songs.