I’ve always argued that listening to Post-Rock band Swans is like the audiophile’s version of heavy lifting. Punishing, exhausting… takes forever to reap the benefits.
Lets start with the obvious. Here are the track lengths off their latest LP:
The Glowing Man
Track 1: 12 min (weird to start the album with the longest song, eh?)
Track 2: 25 min (dear god, how long have I been sitting here?)
Track 3: 14.5 min (funny how this feels short by relation)
Track 4: 4.5 min (wait was that even a song, or part of the other one?)
Track 5: 21 min (they really should schedule a restroom break in the middle of these)
Track 6: 5.5 min (this must have just been an interlude)
Track 7: 28.5 min (I think I’m melting into my chair, my body is ready!)
Track 8: 6.5 min (xxxxxxxxx)
If your not new to Swans (an assorted cast led by front-man Michael Gira), you’ll know this is what they do on the regular. Epic, swirling, repetitions of droning guitars, bells, and “Gira howls” that swell and than fizzle across unreasonably long tracks.
Imagine your knees buckling at their live shows, which by the way, have a reputation for treating their guests to songs played at an ungodly loud volume.
You’ll “want to” dive into their early stuff the same way you’ll “want to” do 100 “burpees” in your backyard in the summer heat. Sluggish tempos and detuned guitars worked to avoid the categorization of “rock music”. Swans heralded the “No Wave” movement (including Sonic Youth, Joy Division) which was two parts a-melodic experimentation (not unlike modern free form jazz) and one part anti-corporate nihilism. A fair description would be heavy metal decomposing at a very slow tempo.
What else could be off putting about Swans, surely their album covers are inviting?
Er……ok.
So at this point, you, much like myself a year or two ago, should have no reason to want to crawl through this bramble that is the Swans discography. But lets pretend your adventurous, and talk about this new album, The Glowing Man (pictured to far right next to traumatized cherub).
Album opener, Cloud of Forgetting starts out innocent enough; its 12 minute run-time fairly normal by Yes standards . Instrumentally, jingling piano keys, church bells, and repetitious guitar patterns sail back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Swans does this all the time, kind of like a Yoga mantra, “Ohms” in the background adding to the meditative aesthetic.
Now that your warmed up, the 25 minute epic Cloud of Unknowing is unceremoniously dumped on your doorstep. Here you get a helping dose of another Swan’s trademark: forcing you to painstakingly wade through minutes upon minutes of instrumental humming and buzzing to get to sounds and verses of more consequence. Your also introduced to some of Gira’s warm and fuzzy lyrics: “Jesus feeler, zombie sucker, zombie healer, monster eater”, juxtaposed with him chanting what sounds like an Arabic call to prayer. People like Us depressingly tips its hat to man-made climate change “The ocean is shifting, we’re sailing the muck. The methane is rising, to heaven above”
But is not all gloom and doom. On “When will I Return?”, Gira’s wife warmly reminisces on her physical assault experience, “His hands are on my throat, my key is in his eye, I’m splayed on some curb, Shards of glass…. starry night”. Channeling Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Frankie M is a loving tribute to seeking enlightenment through only the worst of life-altering drugs. Terrific album closer Finally, Peace ironically ponders the utter meaninglessness of life. Sarcasm aside, there is no lack of diversity on this album whether it be length, style, or delivery.
Like starting a new weight-lifting regiment, you’re probably already to quit on me. I wouldn’t blame you.
Gira announced Glowing Man would end this recent incarnation of Swans. Like a successful sport dynasty, Swans goes on runs, one in the early eighties, a second through the nineties, and the most recent version spanning 2010 to 2016. Their sound is not for the faint-of-ear, and deciphering the meaning of songs is as fruitless as pondering how Kristen Stewart still gets work.
I struggle to complete any other activities while listening to Swans, which is really one of their charms. They demand at once, the entirety of your attention. I cannot just “flip them on”, listening to Swans requires that I set an hour aside and don my best headphones (playing this out loud on speakers may endanger relationships or frighten neighbors).
Much like J.R.R. Tolkien’s abrasive book trilogy The Lord of the Rings, the recent trilogy of Swans albums are not easy completed, border on irksome (like that time Tolkien spent 6 pages describing Bilbo’s door-frame), yet are incredibly rewarding. The combination of 2012’s The Seer, 2014’s To be Kind, and 2016’s The Glowing Man makes for a cohesive and groundbreaking post-rock masterpiece that should (in theory) appeal to fans of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Explosions in the Sky, or Mogwai.
Give them a try today. Or don’t.
Quitter.
Favorite Tracks:
Frankie M, The Glowing Man, Finally, Peace
Tones OF HOME 