Swans

[Karma’s Hat 3107]

Lot's of forum members seem to be interested in trying this band, so I'm going to make a topic about them.

Swans is a band from New York City, New York, United States, active from 1982 to 1997, reformed in 2010, led by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira.

Marginally associated with the no wave scene at first, their original sound was slow and heavy, with live performances that were often so brutal and physical that in a number of instances certain audience members were made ill, police were called and venues were shut down. This early physical sound is possibly best heard on the live album Public Castration Is a Good Idea.

Their initial style shifted a little by the time Swans released seminal twin albums Greed and Holy Money. The music had sped up, at times being even more punishing than their earlier output. Drum machines and samples were slightly more prominent. Michael Gira was joined vocally by Jarboe which gave the band a broader sonic range. Tracks featuring Jarboe were often quieter, even pretty, acting as counterpoint to the more harrowing themes on the albums. Over time, this style would come to dominate the Swans’ output, although they somehow seem to have been able to make a strummed acoustic guitar seem as brutal as their earlier amped-up assaults. The lush instrumentation of their albums from the late 1980s and the 1990’s anticipated the birth of post-rock.

Swans eventually broke up in 1997; Gira went on to release some solo work, later forming the band The Angels of Light, who continue many of the themes and styles found in (later) Swans. Jarboe releases solo work and frequently works with other bands and artists; recently she released an album with Neurosis, a group clearly heavily influenced by Swans.

The influence of Swans upon the music world is profound. Across their 15 years of existence, the various styles they explored gave birth to grindcore (Napalm Death, Nasum) modern “cinematic” post-rock (Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Mono), and atmospheric sludge metal (Isis, Neurosis).

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Almost everything they have made crushes my soul and breaks my heart. I tend to guide newcomers toward the albums The Great Annihilator and White Light From The Mouth of Infinity, which are the most approachable releases from Swans. As best albums I would name the live albums. This band just takes the songs to a whole another level live, and sometimes the songs can be greatly altered from the studio versions too ( Like the Blood Promise clip from above ). The early stuff took a while for me to fully appreciate, but now the listening experience is massive and rather cathartic. I love everything except the Burning World album really.

A new album is also coming out next month, and it's called The Seer. True to their current live performances, the songs lengthy and the album is nearly two hours long. Here's a clip of a song taken from their previous live album, that is going to be in The Seer,

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[Tokage 5930]

This band is pretty grimdark but so far I dig what I've heard ( which isn't much really )

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Been meaning to check this band out for some time now. Some of this sounds really good, so for starters I'm gonna try the two albums you mentioned. Thx for making this thread! ^^

[ficsci 50]

Oh yea the Swans, been trying to listen to them on and off. I see what's cool about them, but I guess it just hasn't clicked yet. But I do like a few stuff by Jarboe (their ex-keyboardist), she also made eerie/pretty soundtracks to some horror video games by Tale of Tales (The Path, Fatale).

I think this is as radio friendly as she gets (still scary as fuck)

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