{"title":"Swans","description":"\u003cp\u003eOne of the most uncompromising bands, Michael Gira's Swans make music that alternates between bleak, brutal noise-rock and dark, ambient, moody folk coupled with intense live performances. Emerging from the downtown New York no wave scene, the group's confrontational shows supported dissonant, repetitive records including 1983's Filth. The dirge-like industrial of 1986's Greed introduced a more atmospheric sound as well as the addition of vocalist\/songwriter Jarboe. 1991's White Light from the Mouth of Infinity was significantly more melodic and elaborately produced, even as the group's concerts remained spectacles. They disbanded in 1997 following Soundtracks for the Blind. Gira re-formed Swans in 2010. This incarnation, easily as uncompromising, produced the group's most commercially successful work, the mammoth To Be Kind, in 2014. Gira returned Swans to an alternating lineup in 2017, subsequently working with a revolving cast on 2019's leaving meaning. and 2023's The Beggar, both less intense than their previous post-reunion work but similarly hypnotic and experimental.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSwans were born on the Lower East Side during the heyday of New York's no wave reaction to punk rock. Led by guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Michael Gira, the group was formed after the demise of his first New York outfit, Circus Mort. Swans' first lineup consisted of Gira, guitarist Sue Hanel, and drummer Jonathan Kane. The trio played with kindred spirits Sonic Youth and made some rudimentary recordings that showcased the abrasive, percussively assaultive sonics Swans were later identified with. These initial sides surfaced on the Body to Body, Job to Job compilation. A different lineup included Kane, guitarist Bob Pezzola, and Daniel Galli-Duani on saxophone; they released a self-titled EP in 1982. The personnel changed again for the band's powerful debut, Filth, issued in 1983 on Germany's Zensor imprint. It included Gira, Kane, guitarist Norman Westberg, bassist Harry Crosby, and percussionist\/drummer Roli Mosimann.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSwans began to garner an audience in Europe. Kane left after Filth was released, and Swans, who were becoming known for their sheer musical brutality as well as Gira's lyrics about violence, extreme sex, power, rage, and the margins of human depravity (sometimes in the same song), found a cult following at home with the release of 1984's Cop. The sound was essentially the same: extreme volume, slower-than-molasses tempos, detuned guitars, distorted electronics, and overamped drums and percussion, but there were discernible traces of something approaching melody in Gira's compositions and vocalizing. Further evidence of this new \"accessibility\" was heard on 1985's untitled EP, which featured the provocatively titled \"Raping a Slave,\" which later became the EP's title. Swans' touring was relentless, and while anything even approaching popularity escaped them in the United States, their European audiences grew exponentially.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe band issued the EP Time Is Money (Bastard) and the full-length Greed at the beginning of 1986, another album, Holy Money, and the A Screw EP. Holy Money marked a real change in the band's sound, though its tactics were largely the same. Two new influential presences, vocalist\/keyboardist Jarboe and bassist Algis Kizys, began, albeit subtly, to shift the band's attack into something less sonically assaultive yet no less jarring emotionally. Jarboe and Kizys would remain members of Swans until the group's extended hiatus began in 1997. Jarboe, who was actually a member of the band as early as Greed, would become a settled, foil-like presence for Gira as co-lead vocalist. Her presence signified the addition of a new set of dynamics and textures to the more brutal soundscapes the band had previously put forth. That said, when called upon to do so, she was no less primal or forceful than Gira as a singer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1987, the band moved to Caroline Records and issued Children of God, a double album that marked the real transition between the two sides of the band’s sound. Gira openly embraced the softer aspects being added to Swans' sonic architecture. Further evidence is provided by the formation of Gira and Jarboe’s side project, Skin (World of Skin in the United States), whose first album, Blood, Women, Roses, with Jarboe featured on lead vocals, was released in 1987. A subsequent album, Shame, Humility, Revenge, with Gira on lead vocals, was also recorded at the same time but released a year later. The German-only Swans set Real Love, a semi-official bootleg, was issued in 1987. Another double album, Feel Good Now, was issued by Rough Trade in 1988. Interestingly, despite Swans gaining attention for their own material (they regularly appeared in the pages of the British weeklies and each new release brought more laudatory ink) and even placing albums on the indie charts' lower rungs, it was ironically a single, a cover of Joy Division's immortal \"Love Will Tear Us Apart,\" that climbed the independent charts in June, nearly topping them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFantastically, Swans were offered -- and signed -- a contract with major-label MCA. \"Saved,\" their first single for the label, was almost mainstream, given the band’s roots. The subsequent album The Burning World, produced by Bill Laswell, featured another cover, this one a gorgeous reading of Blind Faith's \"Can't Find My Way Home.\" The aggressive, savage brutality of the band’s earlier recorded sound had been almost entirely supplanted by a much more somber, elegiac, and acoustic approach to music-making, with lyrics sung (rather than shouted or screamed) in duets between Gira and Jarboe; Westberg played as much acoustic guitar as electric, Jarboe’s keyboards all but floated through the mix, and Kizys employed the upper ranges of his bass like never before. The record didn't sell enough to please MCA, however, and the band was dropped.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSwans live performances were another story. The group continued to play violent music at outrageous volumes that were punishing for audience members, and sometimes displayed shocking and provocative stage antics. Crowds only grew. With critical backlash mounting and the band attracting new listeners, Gira gambled -- or reacted, depending on whose point of view you take -- and instead of following up The Burning World with another album, he formed his own label, Young God, and spent the next few years reissuing earlier Swans material. Gira and Jarboe issued their final World of Skin album, Ten Songs for Another World, in 1990, but Swans didn’t release another album until the stellar White Light from the Mouth of Infinity in 1991. It was their most commercially viable yet adventurously experimental set to date, with myriad textures, dynamics, and sophisticated production techniques. Various forms of electronics were added to the other instruments, creating depth and dimension in the group's sound. The band toured the album in front of their largest audiences yet. In 1992, Swans issued the full-length Love of Life and the live set Omniscience.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1993 Jarboe released her first solo project, Beautiful People Ltd., in collaboration with keyboardist Lary Seven, offering an entirely different side of her mysterious multi-octave vocal persona in Swans: it was a collection of neo-psychedelic pop songs. Gira, meanwhile, wrote fiction in earnest, resulting in the publication of his first book, The Consumer and Other Stories, published by Henry Rollins' 2.13.61 Press in 1995. Swans also resurfaced with the lauded The Great Annihilator. Jarboe issued her second solo offering, Sacrificial Cake, and Gira released his first solo album, Drainland, to boot. After touring with all the new material, the band reconvened later in the year to begin recording Soundtracks for the Blind, which was issued by Young God in 1996. The band went on a final tour before Gira announced in early 1997 that Swans were finished (a subsequent live album was titled Swans Are Dead). He began a new recording project that focused on his songwriting called the Angels of Light, and continued running Young God, a label that became an innovative force in independent music. Jarboe pursued a successful solo career, often employing former members of Swans, as well as collaborating with artists including Tool's Maynard James Keenan and Jesu's Justin Broadrick, to name just two of dozens. Gira also continued writing and publishing fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 2009, news surfaced via the Young God home page that Gira might reconvene Swans for a set of songs he had written. In early 2010, the words \"SWANS ARE NOT DEAD\" appeared on his MySpace page. The new version of the band consisted of former as well as new members including guitarists Westberg and Christoph Hahn, drummer\/percussionist Phil Puleo and drummer Thor Harris, and bassist Chris Pravdica. They recorded My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky, which was released in September of 2010 on Young God. The live album We Rose from Your Bed with the Sun in Our Head followed in 2012 (initially released in a handmade limited edition with bonus tracks). In August of that year, Swans released the sprawling double album The Seer, an effort that Gira claimed was 30 years in the making. He and his collaborators were hardly short on ideas by this point, and following another limited release titled Not Here\/Not Now, they issued another double album, 2014's To Be Kind, which featured guest vocals from St. Vincent and Cold Specks. The album was an unprecedented success for the band, earning unanimous critical acclaim as well as unexpectedly hitting the Top 40 on both the U.S. and U.K. album charts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter that success, Gira announced that the forthcoming Swans tour and album would be the last by the existing lineup of the group, who would continue with a revolving cast of musicians. Following The Gate, another limited double-CD of live recordings and demos, Swans released The Glowing Man, an ambitious two-LP set, in 2016. Deliquescence, a limited double-CD of live performances featuring three pieces unavailable on studio albums, was issued in 2017. Swans went on hiatus in 2018, but Gira briefly toured with Westberg along the West Coast of the United States, performing newly written material. What Is This?, a limited fundraiser album of acoustic demos, was made available in early 2019, and full-length leaving meaning. arrived in late October. Guest musicians on the album included the Necks, Anna and Maria von Hausswolff, Ben Frost, and Baby Dee.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith the band unable to tour during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gira released an album of solo demos titled Is There Really a Mind? that was meant to help raise funds for the next Swans album. The effort proved successful enough that the band -- now made up of a mix of Angels of Light and Swans alumni, plus Frost -- were able to record at Candy Bomber Studio in Berlin. The set, titled The Beggar and released in 2023, reflected Gira's post-pandemic optimism and the band's still-evolving experimental nature. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"swans-children-of-god","title":"| Children of God (LP)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:12px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003eBy 1986\/7 Swans had run it's course with the physical assault of sound they had employed previously for the most part. Michael Gira states \"I wanted to move on to other things and didn't want to get stuck in some style, which in our case had the potential of becoming cartoonish if we'd continued in that direction. So, I pushed the music into unfamiliar territory\". The band spent 6 weeks in an old isolated medieval sawmill in Cornwall, England \"experimenting\" and hashing things out. Gira describes the lineup with Kizys \/ Westberg \/ Jarboe \/ Parsons as \"one of the best live versions of Swans ever - actually much more intense and visceral in performance than in the nuanced takes of the songs on these recordings. Jarboe came more to the fore as a presence too.\" In 2008 Gira would reflect on Children of God as a major turning point for Swans, and the musical tendencies that are first engendered here were fertile ground for the remaining future records. Originally released on Product Inc. (a subsidiary of Mute) in 1987, the album has been remastered and will be available on vinyl in it's original packaging for the first time since that release. Both the CD and vinyl issues will include the live album, Feel Good Now, recorded on the 1987 Children of God European tour, in the CD version as an extra disc and in the vinyl version as a download card.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:12px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003eTracklist\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:12px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003eA1        New Mind\u003cbr\u003e\r\nA2        In My Garden\u003cbr\u003e\r\nA3        Our Love Lies    \u003cbr\u003e\r\nB1        Sex, God, Sex    \u003cbr\u003e\r\nB2        Blood And Honey\u003cbr\u003e\r\nB3        Like A Drug (Sha La La La)\u003cbr\u003e\r\nC1        You're Not Real, Girl\u003cbr\u003e\r\nC2        Beautiful Child\u003cbr\u003e\r\nC3        Blackmail\u003cbr\u003e\r\nC4        Trust Me\u003cbr\u003e\r\nD1        Real Love\u003cbr\u003e\r\nD2        Blind Love\u003cbr\u003e\r\nD3        Children Of God\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:12px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003e*Audio and\/or tracklist may vary slightly from the vinyl version.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:12px;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;\"\u003eLabel: YNGG\u003cbr\u003e\r\nRel. Date: 12\/04\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\r\nUPC: 658457006412\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe allow=\"autoplay *; encrypted-media *; fullscreen *; clipboard-write\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"450\" sandbox=\"allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.music.apple.com\/us\/album\/children-of-god-2020-remaster\/1531023098\" style=\"width:100%;max-width:660px;overflow:hidden;border-radius:10px;\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFormat Detail: LP\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGenre: Alternative\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFormat: Vinyl\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReleased: 12\/04\/2020\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Swans","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44581993414889,"sku":"D96GTA-REIF-00","price":32.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0654\/3523\/8633\/files\/Swans-Children-of-God_xaEjc.jpg?v=1758793578"},{"product_id":"swans-the-glowing-man-gatefold-lp-jacket-poster","title":"The Glowing Man (Gatefold LP Jacket, Poster)","description":"Vinyl LP pressing. \"In 2009 when I made the decision to restart my musical group, Swans, I had no idea where it would lead. I knew that if I took the road of mining the past or revisiting the catalog, that it would be fruitless and stultifying. After much thought about how to make this an adventure that would instead led the music forward into unexpected terrain, I chose the five people with whom to work that I believed would most ably provide a sense of surprise, and even uncertainty, while simultaneously embodying the strength and confidence to ride the river of intention that flows from the heart of the sound wherever it would lead us - and what's the intention? Love! \"And so finally this Love has now led us, with the release of the new and final recording from this configuration of Swans, The Glowing Man, through four albums (three of which contain more complexity, nuance and scope than I would have ever dreamed possible), several live releases, various fundraiser projects, countless and seemingly endless tours and rehearsals, and a generally exhausting regimen that has left us stunned but still invigorated and thrilled to see this thing through to it's conclusion. I hereby thank my brothers and collaborators for their commitment to whatever truth lies at the center of the sound.\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGenre: Pop\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFormat: Vinyl\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReleased: 06\/17\/2016\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Swans","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44584185102569,"sku":"YJF5A6-FAZM-00","price":36.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0654\/3523\/8633\/files\/Swans-The-Glowing-Man-Gatefold-LP-Jacket-Poster_vLCUu.jpg?v=1758789218"},{"product_id":"swans-soundtracks-for-the-blind","title":"Soundtracks for the Blind","description":"Choosing to extinguish the band name under which Gira and Jarboe had worked together for so long must not have been an easy step, but when they decided to end Swans with one last studio release as a prelude to a farewell tour, they did so with what turned out to be their biggest and best album ever. Interestingly, the double-disc, two-and-a-half-hour long Soundtracks makes no pretensions at being a uniform creation like The White Album or Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness; Gira's own notes indicate the song sources as being from \"hand-held cassette recordings to found sounds, to samples, to loops, to finished multitrack recordings,\" recorded with ten different musicians. Everything from raging electric music in extreme to the gentlest of acoustic strums can be found here, ultimately being a perfect encapsulation of Swans' sound -- as much as any greatest-hits anthology could ever have been. \"The Helpless Child,\" the epic-length Gira-sung piece previewed on Die T?r ist Zu, amazingly gets an even more brilliant revision here, while another similarly lengthy track, \"The Sound,\" at once roars and whispers over its length in a way that early Swans -- much less many other bands -- could never have done. Other tracks continue Swans' then-recent practice of mixing random taped conversations with exquisitely arranged performances: \"I Was a Prisoner in Your Skull\" is especially noteworthy as the clear forerunner of Godspeed you Black Emperor!'s entire musical approach. Jarboe's own tracks are all winners, from the fractured, tempo-shifting techno of \"Volcano\" to the howling live version of a solo album track from Sacrificial Cake, \"Yum-Yab Killers.\" Ending on the unexpected yet appropriate \"Surrogate Drone,\" Soundtracks lets Swans bow out from recording on the highest note possible. ~ Ned Raggett\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGenre: Pop\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFormat: CD\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReleased: 07\/27\/2018\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Swans","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44584905310441,"sku":"36280E-0ERQ-00","price":27.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0654\/3523\/8633\/files\/swans-soundtracks-for-the-blind_xGrvG.jpg?v=1758779349"},{"product_id":"swans-filth","title":"FILTH","description":"Swans: M. Gira (bass, vocals, tapes); Norman Westberg, Bob Pezzola (guitar); Daniel Galli-Duani (saxophone); Harry Crosby (bass); Roli Mosimann, Jonathan Kane (drums, percussion).\nRecorded at Baby Monster Studios and Sorcerer Sound, New York; Minot Sound Studios, White Plains, New York.\nIncludes the Swans' first LP (1983) and first EP (1982).\nLyricist: Michael Gira.\nPersonnel: Michael Gira (vocals, tapes); Bob Pezzola, Norman Westberg (guitar); Daniel Galli-Duani (saxophone); Jonathan Kane, Roli Mosimann (drums, percussion).\nRecording information: Minot Sound Studios, White Plains, NY (08\/1981-03\/1982); Sorcerer SOund, New York, NY (08\/1981-03\/1982); Vanguard Studios, New York, NY (08\/1981-03\/1982); Minot Sound Studios, White Plains, NY (1983); Sorcerer SOund, New York, NY (1983); Vanguard Studios, New York, NY (1983).\nPhotographers: Catherine Ceresole; Lee Ranaldo.\nWith only Gira and Kane carrying over from the first EP's lineup, the truly bizarre thing about Swans' first full release is that, in its own angry-beyond-all-anger way, you can actually dance to it at very brief points. Admittedly, spasmodic jerking-around might be the more expected response (and given that Gira physically attacked an audience member at a show around the time of this album's release for \"getting into it too much,\" may be the safer one). But the point remains that the overwhelming angst and death on songs like \"Big Strong Boss,\" with lyrics like \"Cut my throat, kill me snake, do what I say, you're the boss, \" sometimes gets married close enough to a groove that it's almost surprising. For the most part, though, the drums (courtesy in part of future Young Gods producer Roli Mosimann) pound away almost like a ritual, doomy bass and grinding guitars sound like prime Black Sabbath at even danker levels of destruction, and Gira sounds like he's ripping his soul from his throat every time another lyric is half-barked, half-wailed, sometimes with the help of a little electronic distortion. As might be guessed, the only light in the lyrical tunnels comes from an oncoming train, as song titles like \"Power for Power\" and \"Weakling\" would indicate; even \"Thank You\" has lines such as \"This smells sour, burn my face.\" Norman Westberg's guitar work has a definite power to it, and occasional studio manipulations like the chopped-up\/sped-up \"Freak\" keep things interesting, but by the end it all gets a bit much. In small doses, though, it's great, and early Swans really is like little else on the planet before or since. ~ Ned Raggett\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFormat: CD\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReleased: 06\/23\/2015\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Swans","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44586945347817,"sku":"EYT9ZS-PIXC-00","price":29.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0654\/3523\/8633\/files\/swans-filth_ST8uc.jpg?v=1759232517"},{"product_id":"swans-to-be-kind","title":"To Be Kind","description":"\u003cp\u003eTo Be Kind is a Music CDs from Swans\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFormat: CD\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReleased: 05\/13\/2014\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Swans","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44588135940329,"sku":"KOPWAW-4TN5-00","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0654\/3523\/8633\/files\/swans-to-be-kind_qZNRR.jpg?v=1759066209"},{"product_id":"swans-white-light-from-the-mouth-of-infinity","title":"White Light From The Mouth Of Infinity","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhite Light From The Mouth Of Infinity is a Records \u0026amp; LPs from Swans\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGenre: Pop\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFormat: Vinyl\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReleased: 12\/04\/2015\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Swans","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44589838762217,"sku":"X4QDBZ-ARZF-00","price":29.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0654\/3523\/8633\/files\/swans-white-light-from-the-mouth-of-infinity_etjKr.jpg?v=1755292749"},{"product_id":"swans-love-of-life","title":"LOVE OF LIFE","description":"Personnel: M. Gira (vocals, electric \u0026amp; acoustic guitars, samples), Jarboe (vocals, keyboards), Clinton Steele (acoustic \u0026amp; electric guitars), Larry (bass, electric bass), Algis Kizys, Jenny Wade, Troy Gregory (bass), Vincent Signorelli, Ted Parsons (drums), Adam Jankowski (narration on \"Identity\").\n                  \nRecorded at B.C. Studios, Brooklyn, New York; Plastikville, New York; Triclops Sound Studios, Atlanta, Georgia from October to December, 1991.\nAll lyrics by M. Gira, all music by The Swans.\nThis CD contains five untitled tracks of varying lengths.\nInterspersed with a variety of instrumental pieces and loops which add nicely to the album's overall flow -- including a number of random interview clips which would become an even more central motif to the band's work in future albums -- Love of Life continues the astounding creative roll Swans found themselves on with White Light. As with that album, the group here consists first and foremost of Gira and Jarboe, with a variety of assisting performers: Westberg has finally left the picture entirely, leaving Steele as the new main guitarist, and interestingly enough, two long-time veterans return -- the rhythm section of Kizys and Parsons -- though other bassists and drummers perform on the album as well. Again, though, this is very much Gira and Jarboe's album, given that they're in charge of all songwriting, as well as all keyboards and arrangements, building from the newly refined combination of epic scope and delicacy of touch from White Light. The first two full songs provide a near-perfect start for Love: The title track has a quick, rushed pace and pulse, with stabs of further percussion and keyboards to provide underscoring energy to Gira's excellent singing, while \"The Golden Boy That Was Swallowed by the Sea\" captures Swans at their most self-consciously mythic, with a subtly descending chord defining the sweeping, string-heavy song as Gira invokes near Blakean images of crowds, shorelines, and the titular boy, laden with deceptively simple power. Jarboe's own vocals, as ever, are exquisite, investing \"The Other Side of the World\" and her own lyric \"She Crys (For Spider)\" with her beautiful, rich singing. With such further successes as the first gentle then pounding love song \"Her\" (combined with a poignant interview clip) and the snarling kick of \"Amnesia\" to its overall credit as well, Love of Life unsurprisingly proves to be yet another Swans masterpiece. ~ Ned Raggett\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGenre: Pop\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFormat: Vinyl\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReleased: 12\/04\/2015\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Swans","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44594508660969,"sku":"HSA9SY-HMFL-00","price":24.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0654\/3523\/8633\/files\/swans-love-of-life_PEqQk.jpg?v=1753820342"},{"product_id":"swans-the-seer","title":"The Seer","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Seer is a Records \u0026amp; LPs from Swans\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGenre: Pop\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFormat: Vinyl\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReleased: 08\/28\/2012\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Swans","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44599652286697,"sku":"X2PBNS-GL5E-00","price":36.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0654\/3523\/8633\/files\/swans-the-seer_Jthlt.jpg?v=1753824015"},{"product_id":"swans-to-be-kind-1","title":"TO BE KIND","description":"Let no one say Michael Gira doesn't have something to say and the will to say it: 2014's To Be Kind is the third album from the Swans since he reassembled the band in 2010, and it's his second album in a row that spans two discs and runs over two hours. Gira likes to work on a large musical canvas, and he gives himself all the room he needs on To Be Kind -- \"Bring the Sun\/Toussaint L'Ouverture\" alone is the length of an ordinary album at a shade over 34 minutes. Gira's vision is a bit less dark in the 21st century than it was during the Swans' first run in the '80s and '90s, with fewer lyrical images of rage and torment, but he's no less intense as he barks and howls his lyrics of life in a fallen world, and his music is every bit as physically powerful and challenging. As is the Swans' custom, the pieces on To Be Kind are built around repetitive rhythm patterns, with dynamics taking them from an ominous whisper to an unholy roar and back again, and the sheer physical impact of this music (and the stamina that must have been required to perform it) is remarkable, especially on the four cuts besides \"Bring the Sun\" that crack the ten-minute mark. Gira's music is minimalist at its core, but it's never simple or without imagination, and the waves of furious noise, found audio, and percussive hail are orchestrated with the exacting vision of a man who takes that vision very seriously. Gira's accompanists on To Be Kind include longtime guitarists Norman Westberg and Christoph Hahn, as well as bassist Christopher Pravdica and percussionists Phil Puleo, Thor Harris, and Bill Rieflin, and when they come together they sound like some sort of orchestra, huge, passionate, and crammed with sonic detail. And the closing numbers on each disc -- \"Some Things We Do\" and \"To Be Kind\" -- try to offer a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel, as some vague signs of warmth and caring bubble up from the bottom of the black sea. The world of the Swans is a place where joy doesn't visit very often, but it's not as monochromatic as one might imagine, and the craft and vision behind this music is often stunning; Michael Gira is a man unafraid to follow his muse wherever it may take him, and To Be Kind is another example of his singular vision writ large without compromise. ~ Mark Deming\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGenre: Pop\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFormat: Vinyl\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReleased: 05\/13\/2014\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"SWANS","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44599678763241,"sku":"KWFNWR-K96C-00","price":36.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0654\/3523\/8633\/files\/swans-to-be-kind_TA4LQ.jpg?v=1743452164"},{"product_id":"swans-leaving-meaning","title":"Leaving Meaning.","description":"\u003cp\u003eLeaving Meaning. is a Records \u0026amp; LPs from Swans\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGenre: Pop\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFormat: Vinyl\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReleased: 10\/25\/2019\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Swans","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44600002904297,"sku":"FLA5VD-45SN-00","price":31.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0654\/3523\/8633\/files\/swans-leaving-meaning_zW9yL.jpg?v=1759058798"},{"product_id":"swans-filth-1","title":"FILTH","description":"Swans: M. Gira (bass, vocals, tapes); Norman Westberg, Bob Pezzola (guitar); Daniel Galli-Duani (saxophone); Harry Crosby (bass); Roli Mosimann, Jonathan Kane (drums, percussion).\nRecorded at Baby Monster Studios and Sorcerer Sound, New York; Minot Sound Studios, White Plains, New York.\nIncludes the Swans' first LP (1983) and first EP (1982).\nWith only Gira and Kane carrying over from the first EP's lineup, the truly bizarre thing about Swans' first full release is that, in its own angry-beyond-all-anger way, you can actually dance to it at very brief points. Admittedly, spasmodic jerking-around might be the more expected response (and given that Gira physically attacked an audience member at a show around the time of this album's release for \"getting into it too much,\" may be the safer one). But the point remains that the overwhelming angst and death on songs like \"Big Strong Boss,\" with lyrics like \"Cut my throat, kill me snake, do what I say, you're the boss, \" sometimes gets married close enough to a groove that it's almost surprising. For the most part, though, the drums (courtesy in part of future Young Gods producer Roli Mosimann) pound away almost like a ritual, doomy bass and grinding guitars sound like prime Black Sabbath at even danker levels of destruction, and Gira sounds like he's ripping his soul from his throat every time another lyric is half-barked, half-wailed, sometimes with the help of a little electronic distortion. As might be guessed, the only light in the lyrical tunnels comes from an oncoming train, as song titles like \"Power for Power\" and \"Weakling\" would indicate; even \"Thank You\" has lines such as \"This smells sour, burn my face.\" Norman Westberg's guitar work has a definite power to it, and occasional studio manipulations like the chopped-up\/sped-up \"Freak\" keep things interesting, but by the end it all gets a bit much. In small doses, though, it's great, and early Swans really is like little else on the planet before or since. ~ Ned Raggett\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGenre: Pop\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFormat: Vinyl\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReleased: 11\/17\/2014\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Swans","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44600006869225,"sku":"40D20V-1C2H-00","price":24.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0654\/3523\/8633\/files\/swans-filth_VPcoc.jpg?v=1753820253"},{"product_id":"swans-the-beggar","title":"The Beggar","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Beggar is a Music CDs from Swans\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFormat: CD\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReleased: 06\/23\/2023\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Swans","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45568333611241,"sku":"E20XFI-MFAP-00","price":25.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0654\/3523\/8633\/files\/swans-the-beggar_wNYfz_abe2c35b-1246-4d9a-ae55-f9456113d663.jpg?v=1759121737"},{"product_id":"swans-the-beggar-1","title":"The Beggar","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Beggar is a Records \u0026amp; LPs from Swans\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFormat: Vinyl\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReleased: 06\/23\/2023\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Swans","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45568337215721,"sku":"AC3ETS-OKEZ-00","price":42.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0654\/3523\/8633\/files\/swans-the-beggar_NMaF2_d57d4f1a-168f-497b-b37a-1924a40c925f.jpg?v=1759121720"},{"product_id":"swans-public-castration-is-a-good-idea-iex","title":"Public Castration Is a Good Idea (IEX)","description":"\u003cp\u003ePublic Castration Is a Good Idea (IEX) is a Records \u0026amp; LPs from Swans\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGenre: Rock\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFormat: Vinyl\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReleased: 10\/27\/2023\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Swans","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45730549498089,"sku":"604Q5S-A5HO-00","price":39.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0654\/3523\/8633\/files\/swans-public-castration-is-a-good-idea-iex_XZe2z.jpg?v=1745877317"},{"product_id":"swans-feel-good-now-iex","title":"Feel Good Now (IEX)","description":"Tracks\r\n1 Intro\r\n2 New Mind\r\n3 Blood and Honey\r\n4 Trust Me\r\n5 Stupid German Talk\r\n6 Into Blind Love and Out\r\n7 Willy in Ravensburg\r\n8 Sex God Sex\r\n9 Various Audience Tricks\r\n10 Like a Drug\r\n11 Our Love Lies\r\n12 Manchester in Love\r\n13 Beautiful Child\r\n14 Blackmail\r\n15 Children of God\r\n16 Beautiful Reprise - the Town and Country Backstab Cowardice\r\n17 Thank You\r\n18 Various Audience Members\r\n19 Hello to Our Friends\r\n20 Blind Love\r\n21 Thank You, Goodbye\r\n22 Good Luck\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGenre: Rock\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFormat: Vinyl\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReleased: 10\/27\/2023\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Swans","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45730562736361,"sku":"BR76VK-Q4PF-00","price":39.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0654\/3523\/8633\/files\/swans-feel-good-now-iex_hPCMs.jpg?v=1754671049"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0654\/3523\/8633\/collections\/image_bb8a8624-4eb5-4023-b510-fa6ac80bf4a6.webp?v=1729484828","url":"https:\/\/www.vibinvinyl.com\/collections\/swans.oembed","provider":"Vibin' Vinyl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}