Support WizCase to help us guarantee honest and unbiased advice. Share our site to support us! Please type an email. Please type a Name. I want more news and awesome tips. Our Reviews WizCase includes reviews written by our experts. Referral fees Wizcase may earn an affiliate commission when a purchase is made using our links. Version: 5. Written by: Chase Williams Last updated on October 16, But be prepared, because you are going to have your breath taken away two more times with the two long form songs on the 2nd disc.
As much as it is a temptation to explain in detail every single track on this album, it is also a fruitless exercise to do so. Words just won't explain the experience of the album. The music might not sit well with everyone, and it's not supposed to. If you can't tolerate a sense of unease in music in order to arrive to a destination, then this is not for you.
You do have to be patient to get to some payoffs, and other times they come quickly, but in the end, you feel like there was purpose behind it all. It would be impossible to try to figure out Gira's reasoning behind some things in the decisions he makes when determining where to take his compositions, but that is not our job.
It is our job to listen to this music and enjoy it, be stimulated by it, or just decide to shun it all together. But, "The Seer" is a definite masterpiece that shows the development of an artist who wasn't ever afraid to do what he wanted in music. In the world of modern progressive music, it is difficult to achieve what Gira did with "The Seer", using new-form progressive composition to create something that could be considered innovative and as impressive as say Yes' "Close to the Edge".
But to those that are patient and are willing to explore the music, you will find that amazing music still exists, it just takes time sometimes to get it. But, then , the best music always does. Gira wanted this album to be like a soundtrack from a non-existent film. What it turned out to be was probably Swans most varied album ever. Part of the reason for this is that the album comes from many different sources through the years that Swans was in existence. He was interested in Brian Eno's sounds and the way he manipulated source material to create new songs and styles.
He pared old Swans source material from previous recordings and added new material to that and claims that he just threw it all into a computer and assembled it into this album.
At times, there are passages that are playing together that could be from two different decades. So, yeah, you can see why the styles on this album are so varied. Yet, somehow, he makes it all work. Amongst these tracks, there are sound collages, field recordings, drones, huge lengthy tracks and many short ones, quite a mix, that makes up a total of 26 tracks and lasting well over 2 hours. And there are some real gems on here and its no wonder that after the release of this album, the interest in the band would grow over the time of their hiatus.
Other reviewers have done track by track analyses, so it's not really expedient to do that here, even though, for an album like this, it is probably the best way to review it, since it is so varied. The album really flows surprisingly well starting with an atmospheric instrumental, moving to a spooky, mostly spoken word, recording to the epic and excellent "Helpless Child". This one moves from the astoundingly beautiful to the disturbingly dissonant, remaining dark all the way through.
It covers a lot of territory, from an almost minimalistic and pensive lyrical section to a hard and heavy section that is actually quite a study in restraint.
This music can try the patience of many listeners, and that is what it is doing as a post-rock style of music, it takes it's time, not wanting to rush to its climactic conclusion, but to build on it slowly and evenly, making a 15 minute track based on anticipation.
When the Swans came back in , they would use this formula to its extremes, mixing long soundscapes with shorter tracks, and end up establishing themselves as true progressive artists. These songs on this album are their first big steps to that. The songs can also mess with your emotions, mixing a sparse and apocolyptic array of instrumental darkness with the loop of a child singing happily in "Beautiful Days". There is also the electronically enhanced sounds that manage to mix a rave-up sound with Jerboe's singing brightly off beat on "Volcano" with a melody that should mix well with the constant thump of the drums, but is strangely off kilter.
As the album rolls on, there are tracks that are very experimental and sound nothing like Swans have ever sounded in the past, and yes, the influence of Brian Eno is there in the low minimal sections and in the harsh and almost industrial passages, as in the extreme contrasts evident in "All Lined Up".
In the meantime, "Animus" tips even the post-punk world on its ear, almost like the polar opposite of "Cop" even though it's still in the key of "sludge" but surprisingly minimal and noisy at the same time. The 2nd disc continues in the same experimental vein as the first. The music becomes denser as it moves along until layers of grungy guitars and crashing cymbals overpower everything else.
It's not until the 10 minute mark that we get a reprieve from the heaviness when it all returns to the minimal sound again with indiscernable vocals. As with the first disc, there is quite a variety of sounds and styles here, but you also hear the Eno influences in the interesting collages, spoeken word recordings, the mixing and layering of recordings and etc.
Probably the most unexpected sounds here are the ones that involve Jerboe's vocals. There is some very odd experimentation here, sometimes using her voice like in "Hypogirl" and her startling delivery. The odd and yet intriguing collection of tracks culminates in "The Final Sacrifice", which is recorded live and eventually brings in the most emotion of any of the tracks.
The album is one of Swans most versatile albums, with a lot of experimentation, drone-like passages, post-rock styles, and so on. Overall, the collective feel is quite dark, as is probably expected, eeire, pensive and most of all, inventive.
Just like me though, there are some of these tracks that you'll find quite appealing while others will just absolutely rub you the wrong way and you might even find irritating.
But Swans never were here to make music that everyone would understand, and this album was quite a statement for what was the last we would hear from the band for a while.
In the end, though, I am always intrigued by this album, and find enough here to merit a 4 star rating.
Despite going in with a relatively new style on this album, there are definitely still strong gothic overtones throughout many of these tracks, the soft backing vocals providing many tracks with an ethereal feel, as can be seen in the opener, In. I Am The Sun is the first real song however, and it definitely sets a precedent that this is going to be a different listening experience to past albums, having a fast pace and powerful intensity without becoming abrasive or noisy in the process.
Oxygen Nathalie Neal To Be Kind It is called To Be Kind. The release date is set for May 13, It will also be available digitally. We commenced rehearsals as Sonic Ranch in early October , began recording soon thereafter, then completed the process of mixing with John in Dallas by mid December Much of the music was otherwise conjured in the studio environment. The recordings and entire process of this album were generously and perhaps vaingloriously funded by Swans supporters through our auspices at younggodrecords.
He has been a frequent contributor to Swans and Angels of Light and is currently playing with King Crimson Vincent appears courtesy of Loma Vista Recordings. I love you! Michael Gira. Tags rock New York. Children of God Remaster. Dissolution Wave go to album. On Bandcamp Radio.
Featuring favorite reissues from Plus we welcome Funkadelic and co.
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