Top 100 Swans songs
Ranking and reviewing swans top 100 |
| 100 |  | Swans
To Be Kind
SOME THINGS WE DO
The weakest from TBK still deserves a Place in the top 100. The title aptly sums the Song content, despite being just a list of things that humans do and dissonant bows still manage to create tension unlike any other band. |
| 99 |  | Swans
Leaving Meaning
IT'S COMING IT'S REAL
Basically swans turned gospel in one of their most surprisingly positive songs. |
| 98 |  | Swans
The Beggar
LOS ANGELES: CITY OF DEATH
Brief and catchy song among many long pieces |
| 97 |  | Swans
Children of God
REAL LOVE
A gloomy neofolk piece with the trademark "dark gospel" sound of COG. |
| 96 |  | Swans
Holy Money
COWARD
Vicious, hideous and misanthropic |
| 95 |  | Swans
Cop
WHY HIDE
The most hideous piece from their sludgiest release. |
| 94 |  | Swans
Soundtracks for the Blind
RED VELVET CORRIDOR
The haunting SFTB opener Is a great liminal introduction to one of the most surreal albums ever. |
| 93 |  | Swans
The Great Annihilator
TELEPATHY
Jazzy tempo, morbid lyrics, hypnotizing tempo and freaky outro. |
| 92 | | Swans
Soundtracks for the Blind
LIVE THROUGH ME/HER MOUTH IS FILLED WITH HONEY
2 Surreal interludes from SFTB. The First consisting in creepy backwards music combined to harmonic acoustics. The second one is a nightmarish loop sound with unsettling spoken words. |
| 91 | | Swans
The Beggar
UNFORMING
Acoustic piece that depicts a peaceful death |
| 90 |  | Swans
The Glowing Man
CLOUD OF FORGETTING
A Slow burning mystical crescendo that aptly opens their last installment of the rebirth trilogy. Still i rarely go for this song separately from the rest of the album. |
| 89 | | Swans
The Great Annihilator
BLOOD PROMISE
Chilling and sombre, one of the few neofolk songs on TGA. |
| 88 | | Swans
The Beggar
THE BEGGAR
That final scream perfectly describes Gira's anguish for death that marks the album. |
| 87 |  | Swans
Love of Life
NO CURE FOR THE LONELY
I'm not a huge fan of love of life, it's good but feels like a weak twin of white light and pales compared to other releases. |
| 86 |  | Swans
Filth
POWER FOR POWER
An effective display of human's rotten nature. |
| 85 | | Swans
Children of God
BLIND LOVE
Gira's deepest vocals. The verses are minimal quiet rage ready to explode. |
| 84 | | Swans
To Be Kind
NATHALIE NEAL
I really do love the ominous primal intro and the lullaby-like outro, the main song is very good to but pales compared with TBK's masterpieces |
| 83 |  | Swans
My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky
NO WORDS/NO THOUGHTS
The closest to set the base for the sound of The seer. |
| 82 |  | Swans
White Light From the Mouth of Infinity
WHY ARE WE ALIVE
Like to be kind, white light is one of their most solid efforts, so even the weakest tracks are still great. This One has all the great elements of most of the album and catchy melodies but a little less remarkable than other great pieces |
| 81 | | Swans
Soundtracks for the Blind
SECRET FRIENDS
This 3 minutes interlude has a gloomy atmosphere that somehow gives me "Twin peaks" vibes. |
| 80 | | Swans
The Beggar
PARADISE IS MINE
The backing chorus getting louder and louder really makes the climax |
| 79 | | Swans
The Glowing Man
FRANKIE M
Every section of this song is amazing: the increasing female mystical vocal intro, Gira's one adding to the chorus, the musical crescendo, the singing about overdose, the pounding outro, all fantastic. BUT any section (maybe not the singing One) drags unnecessarily after a while. If Frankie M lasted like 12/13 minutes instead of 20 It would be much higher |
| 78 | | Swans
White Light From the Mouth of Infinity
WHEN SHE BREATHES
I think songs like this inspired Chelsea Wolfe with her sound. |
| 77 | | Swans
White Light From the Mouth of Infinity
YOU KNOW NOTHING
A melancholic gothic piece with sombre ethereal wave influences, Gira's static vocals blends with Jarboe's harmonies so well. |
| 76 | | Swans
The Great Annihilator
MOTHER'S MILK
Much like blackmail in COG, this song gives the listener a break after a very dark song, a brief lullaby-like overwhelming Jarboe chant. |
| 75 | | Swans
Soundtracks for the Blind
HYPOGIRL
The most bizarre Jarboe track, much like yum-yab killers but less unnerving, obsessive lines sung by a maniacal vocal performance makes this freak folk piece very memorable |
| 74 | | Swans
White Light From the Mouth of Infinity
SONG FOR DEAD TIME
Another Jarboe one, this time an acoustic drive depressive poetry with very good lyrics. |
| 73 |  | Swans
The Seer
93 AVE. BLUES
Considered to be one of their most terrifying works, and for a good reason. Itchy noises, chaotic percussions and dead lyricless vocals blends together in an hellish dissonant symphony. |
| 72 | | Swans
White Light From the Mouth of Infinity
MIRACLE OF LOVE
More uplifting compared to the more depressive/melancholic feel of most songs on the album, the first 3 minutes builds a climax that explodes in the second half. |
| 71 | | Swans
White Light From the Mouth of Infinity
SONG FOR THE SUN
This one has a bittersweet feel, the lyrics reflects on human condition with sadness and a little hope towards the end but musicale it's the most joyful from White light. |
| 70 | | Swans
Soundtracks for the Blind
RED VELVET WOUND
Despite being just a 2 mins piece, this intro perfectly opens the second side of SFTB with a waltz from the other world ending with the same droning sound from Red Velvet corridor |
| 69 | | Swans
Filth
STAY HERE
The nihilistic debut opener sounds so soiled that you'll need a shower when it has done with you. |
| 68 | | Swans
The Great Annihilator
CELEBRITY LIFESTYLE
Swans meets new wave, or at least the darkest thing new wave could morph into.
The lyrics reflects about the self destructive behavior of a woman representing a shallow society. |
| 67 | | Swans
To Be Kind
KIRSTEN SUPINE
Loosely inspired by Von Trier's "Melancholia", the first half Is the perfect balance between peaceful and perturbed, the second one is an instrumental apocalyptic building. The second half could've bene a couple of minutes shorter but it's great anyways, the first half alone makes the whole song. |
| 66 | | Swans
Children of God
YOU'RE NOT REAL, GIRL
One of their bleakest neofolk pieces ever, this one will surely ruin your good mood. |
| 65 | | Swans
White Light From the Mouth of Infinity
THE MOST UNFORTUNATE LIE
The ending to White light is a regretful and sorrowful ending that somehow transmit anemoia to the listener |
| 64 | | Swans
The Beggar
THE BEGGAR LOVER (THREE)
Here it is, the long one. 42 minutes. This song alone is basically an album and their most patience-requiring song ever. While i'll not come back often for this one i consider it more of a pre-death experience rather than a song. It has to be long, it has to be "anti-musical". Nursery rhymes, screeching sounds, spiritual chants, terrific reprises such as "the beggar" riff and "leaving meaning" lyrics, disjointed words. Just some of what you'll find here. |
| 63 | | Swans
Leaving Meaning
WHAT IS THIS?
This one on the contrary may be their most joyful song ever, despite the lyrics about death, it's full of light, hope and acceptance.
The elevating female backing vocals perfectly close this happier track. |
| 62 | | Swans
The Glowing Man
PEOPLE LIKE US
"We need a dream to escape
People like us
We need to sleep to awake"
Beautiful |
| 61 | | Swans
Soundtracks for the Blind
ALL LINED UP
If 93 Ave.Blues is their scariest piece this one may be their most disturbing. The trembling vocals surrounded by unnerving background sounds depicts vivid nightmarish scenarios in gruesome and depraved details. Masterful (and deranged) storytelling. |
| 60 | | Swans
The Beggar
MICHAEL IS DONE
This would've been the perfect conclusion to the beggar instead of the memorious, which is in my opinion the weakest from their last album. It seems that Gira has found the perfect balance between the fear for death and complete acceptance. |
| 59 | | Swans
The Glowing Man
FINALLY, FREE
An unexpectingly cheerful way to end the rebirth trilogy. Like the title suggests it's like a liberation from all the past darkness we've been through these years |
| 58 | | Swans
The Glowing Man
THE WORLD LOOKS RED/THE WORLD LOOKS BLACK
This one has a strong proggy feel. The first 7 minutes sounds like primeval incorporeal that slowly builds into the middle part that sounds like a sort of "no words/no thoughts" sequel, than it gets jazzy and ends with an ascension |
| 57 | | Swans
Children of God
OUR LOVE LIES/SEX, GOD, SEX
I count these as a singular song split in two, they both share the same melody, rhythm and subject and they should be listened together. Our love lies holds a dismal melody and sorrowful backing vocals in a self-delusional hope for a greater love while sex, god, sex transform that melody in a doomy riff, self delusion becomes self loathe and the backing vocals becomes an admission of sin and yield to temptation |
| 56 | | Swans
The Great Annihilator
THE GREAT ANNIHILATOR
This title track is a psychedelic carnivalesque trip |
| 55 | | Swans
My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky
REELING THE LIARS IN
An happy folk song about, well... skinning, mutilating and burning sinners. In perfect swans style. Still very catchy tune. |
| 54 | | Swans
Soundtracks for the Blind
EMPATHY
A slow gentle dreamy instrumentation surrounds utterly depressive lyrics. The subject is connected with "hypogirl" and it's incest, in this case the long term effects and regrets. The music vanishing at the end while the frail voice still gasps for air is outstanding |
| 53 | | Swans
Children of God
IN MY GARDEN
A calm oneiric song about heaven, despite it's tranquil nature there something uncanny in it, like something would explode at any moment but it never does, keeping the listener in tension. Musical magic. |
| 52 | | Swans
Children of God
CHILDREN OF GOD
A distorted organ-like synths drives the closer of this outstanding album, the broken repetitive rhythm and the worshipping Jarboe vocals encapsulates the essence of a blind religion cult. |
| 51 | | Swans
Children of God
BLOOD AND HONEY
This one has strong occult vibes, like a demonic witchcraft atmosphere that surrounds the minimalistic sinister instrumentation and the ritualistic-like Jarboe lead vocals. |
| 50 | | Swans
Holy Money
A HANGING
It's incredible how they manage to sound so ominous with so few element. The same repeating 3 drum beats, backing haunting vocals by Jarboe, mechanical noises and Gira's lifeless vocals. All combined to display the last moments before a suicide. |
| 49 | | Swans
My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky
LITTLE MOUTH
The misty conclusion to My father...sounds a bit like reeling the liars in but without the disturbing lyrics, meditative atmosphere, gang whistles and chants. The album perfectly ends when the music vanishes and only Gira's remains and keeps his wistful singing. |
| 48 | | Swans
Children of God
BEAUTIFUL CHILD
A chaotic and delirious reimagination of Abraham killing his son Isaac, like if he was possessed by god itself delusional in the extreme. The distorted hellish instrumentation perfectly encapsulates the essence of this delirium. |
| 47 | | Swans
The Beggar
THE PARASITE
The beggar's opener is actually the darkest from that album. A minimalistic song divided in 3 main sections: the first is a grim acoustic introduction leading to a bone chilling spoken part repeating "come to me, feed on me" obsessively, then it ends with a droning ascending third part |
| 46 | | Swans
Leaving Meaning
SUNFUCKER
The whole song sounds like a ritual to conjure some kind of entity. The star of the song is without any doubt Anna von Hausswolff and her primal weird singing, the more the song goes on, the more it sounds like "the sunfucker" is rising. |
| 45 | | Swans
The Great Annihilator
WHERE DOES YOUR BODY END?
Gira goes metaphysical in this catchy yet experimental piece with long verses, melodic guitar harmonies and lyrics about the concept of soul. |
| 44 | | Swans
To Be Kind
TO BE KIND
With a structure similar to Kirsten supine, to be kind's title track as an ethereal first half that explodes into a crushing weight in the end closing this fantastic album with the vague and powerful line "there are millions and millions of stars in your eyes". |
| 43 | | Swans
The Seer
MOTHER OF THE WORLD
The first time i heard MOTW i hated it for that long intro, the second time i felt like something ominous was crawling underneath that repetition, the third time i felt that breath like someone giving birth and the weird primal noises suddenly interrupted by that odd "v-v v-v v-v v-v" before the real song kicks in, i loved it. The rest of the song has post-rock influences combined with experimental singing and ancient-like atmospheres. |
| 42 | | Swans
My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky
JIM
Folk hasn't sound so deranged since Comus first utterance. The villainous singing and drug trip vibes makes this wicked track one of their most underrated pieces. |
| 41 | | Swans
Soundtracks for the Blind
I WAS A PRISONER IN YOUR SKULL
A brief trip inside a paranoid's mind. That disturbing vocal jingle will stuck in your mind. Plus the drum section, the distorted flute, that enigmatic spoken part and ambience all contributes to create an anti-musical masterpiece. |
| 40 | | Swans
Filth
WEAKLING
The heaviest non-metal song ever made. The bass sounds organic, the atonal self-loathing vocals, dissonant noises and industrial sound makes weakling not only the best no-wave song ever but also one of the most influential songs for the industrial rock/metal and noise rock scene. |
| 39 | | Swans
Children of God
BLACKMAIL
After the nightmarish "beautiful child" the listener has a break with this beautiful Jarboe piano driven piece full of sorrowful melancholy. Despite sounding peaceful the lyrics about gaslighting and brainwashing are truly dark. |
| 38 | | Swans
The Great Annihilator
MY BURIED CHILD
What i really love about TGA is the variety. An other-wordly celtic song is unexpected but welcome. The lyrics are both sublime and miserable and Jarboe's versatile vocal styles makes this short song one of their most atypical and intense pieces. |
| 37 | | Swans
The Great Annihilator
MOTHER_FATHER
Speaking about variety of TGA from the previous ancient vibes m_f projects the listener into a futuristic sound with fast paced rhytm, unearthly themes, and ubimitable Jarboe vocals that goes from childish voice to furious screams. |
| 36 | | Swans
Soundtracks for the Blind
THE BEAUTIFUL DAYS
Swans best ambient work, it sounds like an actual dream. An incredibly uncomfortable one. Despite the oneiric musical aspect, the justapoxition between a loop made by a tape of Jarboe's singing while she was a little girl and the distorted voice talking about phone sex is unnerving. |
| 35 | | Swans
White Light From the Mouth of Infinity
LOVE WILL SAVE YOU
Despite of the title this famous anthem holds a message of hopelessness for human condition and hypocrisy. Musically it's one of the most captivating and accessible the bands has done due to memorable chorus, gothic rock influences and melodic keys. |
| 34 | | Swans
White Light From the Mouth of Infinity
BETTER THAN YOU
Apt opener for white light, it holds the best elements that characterize the album. It manage to sound heavy even without distortion, the dreamlike keys adds a surreal atmosphere and so does the flutes, the lyrics reflects about human condition, self delusion and grudge. The riff around 4 minutes sounds so gloomy. |
| 33 | | Swans
Soundtracks for the Blind
ANIMUS
As said by Gira, SFTB has to sound more like a dream than actual music. Animus is the best example, the monotonous key, the doleful riff and tortured lyrics contributes to create an unimitable feel to it all. The ending with distorted bows deconstructing the rhythm and the music melting away perfectly depicts the end of the dream. |
| 32 | | Swans
The Beggar
NO MORE OF THIS
This comes as the most touching part of the beggar. Michael realising that he's gonna loose everything he has in life, that he is dying, he will never see his loved ones again, but somehow that's fine, dying is the essence of life. The most intense part is when he wave goodbye to his sons and daughter with resigned voice and celestial music. |
| 31 | | Swans
The Glowing Man
CLOUD OF UNKNOWING
After being introducted by cloud of forgetting this one project the listener in some unearthly place. The song has some of the best elements from the rebirth trilogy such as evil sludgy riffs, chaotic percussive sections, like in TBK, atmospheric acoustic passages, dark transcendental moments and shamanic vocals like in The seer and the trademark distorted spiritual themes combined to the proggy feel of this album. A sweet psychic journey. |
| 30 | | Swans
Soundtracks for the Blind
YRP
One of the most distressing listens from the album, an that says a lot. The song begins with a distorted (Stewie Griffin's) scream in loop, then procedes with a minimalistic haunting instrumentation, Jarboe's tortured vocals rearranging "your property" lyrics are a delightfully uncanny combination. |
| 29 | | Swans
The Seer
THE SEER RETURNS
A demented yet catchy tune. The snappy rhythm and calm vocals are justapoxed by a sick atmosphere, distorted organs and creepy lyrics full of twisted imagery. When Jarboe starts her chant combined to the increasing chaotic music and Gira's lifeless "bring th children home" repeated over and over it reaches the perfect ending for this song. |
| 28 | | Swans
Leaving Meaning
MY PHANTOM LIMB
What the flying fuck is happening? This is like schizophrenia transposed in music. Despite the instrumentation is pretty basic there are like 4 different vocal verses going on at the same time. After a while a female jingle adds and towards the end all the chaos converge into one unique chorus "i am flying". What an experience. |
| 27 | | Swans
To Be Kind
BRING THE SUN/TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE
Most fans rank this as the best TBK song and maybe top 10 swans songs ever. Despite being one epic behemoth of a song i think it could've been even better cutting some time from the second part. The first half starts with warm atmosphere and weird prayer-like vocals, the "bring the sun" section is one of the best buildings the band has ever done, the sun worshipping with the increasing speed exploding into a quiet centerpiece with sounds of horses and woodcutting, background droning sounds and a freedom chant. As for toussaint, i seem to like this section more than most fans, the jazzy music with screamed vocals and Gira purring is great, still it may be 2/3 minutes longer than it needs to be. |
| 26 | | Swans
White Light From the Mouth of Infinity
FAILURE
The sound of yield. One of the most authentic depiction of self loathing, diffidence towards society, lack of sympathy and waste of life. The minimal instrumentation consisting in a feeble synth, soulles vocals and sorrowful guitars perfectly transpose the idea of dismal. |
| 25 | | Swans
To Be Kind
JUST A LITTLE BOY
A song from the perspective of a fetus into a womb, despite the subject and most of the lyrics sounds peaceful musically it's one of the band's most unnerving pieces. The slow ethereal atmosphere is quickly replaced by deafening noises, heavy riffs, and a scary audience laugh. Plus Gira mocking the voice of a child has a weirdly uncanny result. |
| 24 | | Swans
The Glowing Man
WHEN WILL I RETURN?
An overlooked gem. Sung by Gira's wife this song is about a victim of rape, about her homicidal thoughts, dealing with trauma, memories and anger. The first half is a beautiful sombre acoustic ballad, then when the building kicks in there's a sort of statement and overcoming. Sometimes there's no need for lengthy songs to have such intensity. |
| 23 | | Swans
My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky
YOU FUCKING PEOPLE MAKE ME SICK
Starting with a jew's harp this song starts softly but very uneasy, the back-and-forth part with Gira's kid is totally creepy. The lyrics may be seen both about overpopulation and child abuse. Then after 3 minutes the song basically jumpscares you suddenly changing into a dark instrumental that sounds coming from the depths of hell. |
| 22 | | Swans
To Be Kind
OXYGEN
This song is basically the musical portraying of a panic attack. Probably one of the fastest and most aggressive pieces they made. Chris Pravdica's captivating bass and Phil Puleo's relentless drumming creates a perfect synergy and Gira does some of his most Gira vocals ever: Prayers, delusions, screams and literally barkings. The more the songs goes on the more sanity is slipping away introducing surreal lyrics, trumpets and chaotic rhythms. |
| 21 | | Swans
The Great Annihilator
SHE LIVES
Evil folk song with reverbered percussions and distorted trumpets that creates an impending doom vibe. The sadistic lyrics sounds about manipulation and effects on the abused mind. The last section of the song completely changes genre. |
| 20 | | Swans
Children of God
LIKE A DRUG (SHA LA LA)
Incredibly forbidding, like a drug is the perfect combination of early gritty raw swans and later more structured and atmospheric albums. The pounding riffs surrounded by discordant echoes of trumpets, broken bow notes and cavernous vocals followed by the sick chorus makes this song one of the heaviest post-cop songs the band has ever done and an apt depiction of insanity. |
| 19 | | Swans
Soundtracks for the Blind
THE FINAL SACRIFICE
A song about being phisically and psychologically (and sexually?) possessed by Jesus Christ. If the concept wasn't already disturbing enough, Gira tears his chords out with some of his rawest vocals ever, like if he was praying in ecstasy but then begging for mercy. When he yells "get out of my head" sounds like an authentic possession. All is built on a minimalistic, almost meditative music. |
| 18 | | Swans
White Light From the Mouth of Infinity
BLIND
If failure was depressing, blind is genuinely one of the saddest songs ever created, on par with NIN's hurt, Acid bath's bones of baby dolls, HANL's bloodhail and Radiohead's how to disappear. The acoustic arpeggio, Jarboe's backing harmonies, the disilluded vocals and most of all the loss of hope in the lyrics that depicts the realization of futility, the waste of youth, the act of conscience that you always misunderstood everything. Never listen to it when you're happy, it may ruin your day. |
| 17 | | Swans
The Seer
SONG FOR A WARRIOR
The reason why i think the seer is the most complete swans album is because it holds their darkest moments but also their brightest. A simple acoustic guitar surrounded by melancholic wailings, some piano notes and Karen O's beautiful voice in Gira's hands are enough for him to create maybe their most beautiful piece. There's a weird feeling of nostalgia and cyclic happenings in the lyrics. |
| 16 | | Swans
The Great Annihilator
KILLING FOR COMPANY
People who don't know may actually think this song could be almost sweet. They couldn't be wronger. The song is about Dennis Nielsen, a serial killer whose M.O. consisted in strangling or drowning his victims and pretending their bodies were alive to (as the title suggests) keep him company. The dark atmospheres and lifeless singing encapsulates the essence of a lonely hollow man singing a love song to his victim. The monothone organ-like synth and the final Jarboe lullabye sets the creepy mood pretty well. |
| 15 | | Swans
Children of God
NEW MIND
Conceptually this album couldn't start better.
The back and forth singing between lead vocals and screaming gang vocals repeating perfectly portrays the idea of a cult leader guiding his followers that just repeats his words in unison like they are brainwashed. Brilliant. Plus the outro slowly descending into hell is the perfect conclusion for this perfect opener. |
| 14 | | Swans
The Seer
A PIECE OF THE SKY
This one grew on me with time. It starts with a fire than a static cocooned female chant slowly turns into a transcending sound. The first 9 minutes are basically one of the most transcendental ambient pieces ever, than the beats kick in and it's definitively on the bright side of the seer, beautifully uplifting yet melancholic. The sung part is definitively the best of the song, holding elements of post-rock, folk and that unique sound that makes swans what they are. The lyrics reflects the music: surreal, poetic, unearthly and pensive. |
| 13 | | Swans
To Be Kind
A LITTLE GOD IN MY HANDS
Like the seer returns this one combines a simple drum beat, catchy rhythm and unnerving scary sound. The blending of these elements and other goodies such as vicious piano melodies, raspy vocals with background meaningless chours, chaotic distorted sounds, ambiguos lyrics that combines beautiful elements, metaphysical ones to literally shit and blood results in one unique demented masterpiece. |
| 12 | | Swans
White Light From the Mouth of Infinity
POWER AND SACRIFICE
The perfect portrayal of thirst for power. The banality of evil summed in a majestic 5.36 piece driven by an almost military drum beat, dreary guitar melodies and mid-oriental influences. The fact that the vocals are so emotionless (yet so chilling) perfectly represents a hollow man with god complex but at the same time the rotten essence of human beings in general.
It could be considered Swans' paint it black, only much darker and hopeless |
| 11 | | Swans
The Seer
THE WOLF/THE SEER
The wolf (which i always considered as the natural intro to the seer) is a brief song consisting in almost only vocals, few guitar notes, and background sounds that feels like a lonesome conjuring, then the seer kicks in with hellish bagpipes and flows in one of their best (even more than bring the sun, and that's a lot) and most wicked build ups ever, with increasing threatening music becoming louder and louder and vocals obsessively repeating "i see it all" like it was some kind of unholy enlightenment, then the build up explode and a slow burning pounding mid-section fades to a desolate soundscape where a lonely haunting harmonica echoes til a totally fucked up ending with a primal evil witchcraft like atmosphere and weird chicken-like vocals spits actual lyrics mixed up with made up amenities and unonown languages. A megalithic journey through darkness. |
| 10 | | Swans
Soundtracks for the Blind
THE SOUND
Since from the first notes the sound is a claustrophobic experience, the keys are liminal at best, capturing the essence of self isolation. The vocals are feeble and fragile reflecting the feeling of dismal. But then the music progressively rise and becomes more and more powerful. Lots of Swans songs has these kind of middle section but this one feels even more intense with it's slow building and saddening guitar melodies buried beneath the mix, but then the building becomes darker just to disappear and the minimal sung part returns just to vanish into sounds of a broken carillon. Unbelievable how many feelings and meanings can be found into a song with so few lyrics. |
| 9 | | Swans
The Great Annihilator
IN/I AM THE SUN
TGA opens with a ritualistic intro ending with a creepy baby laugh, then i am the sun kicks in, and frankly, despite being one of their structurally simplest it's also one of their most straightforward evil songs ever. Every verse is followed by a brief silence then replaced by a claustrophobic fading sound, the lyrics are increasingly darker and darker, the music increasingly oppressive, Jarboe's distorted backing vocals sounds like demonic children, never thought "i love everyone" could sound that menacing. Plus that mechanical pounding drums makes everything heavier, but irresistibly catchy as much as the lo-fi production.
I think it's also a great place to start if you want to get into Swans due to it's combination of dark material, disturbing atmosphere, heaviness and accessible rhythms. |
| 8 | | Swans
The Seer
AVATAR
Swans most underrated song ever. Avatar preceeds the seer's 2 big closers, it begins with a mystical bell driven rhythm that slowly drives an epic ascending climax that somehow projects the listener into an upcoming storm. The climax becomes more and more intense then the sung part starts, despite the lyrics being so minimalistic they perfectly capture the uplifting soundscape. The climax seems to reach it's peak after the last words "here" when music fades but that piano kicks in and the real explosion ends the storm. |
| 7 | | Swans
Soundtracks for the Blind
VOLCANO
Here it is, THE Jarboe song. Sounds like 3 different songs crammed together. A loud electro-dance beat looped and stretched til it goes backwards and starts again covers a feeble lullaby like melody and Jarboe's lead vocals sings basically another song and somehow this chaos generates one of the catchiest and yet most disturbing songs in their catalogue. Despite the sweet vocal tone the lyrics sounds like an obsessed pop-star stalker fantasizing about cannibalizing her/his idol to reach sexual and godly ecstasy, the loud beat going in reverse perfectly displays the sensation of something trying to cover this deranged urge but underneath the obsession starts to grow harder and harder. What a unique piece of music. |
| 6 | | Swans
The Seer
LUNACY
The very beginning of the rebirth trilogy, it was already clear that a new kind of darkness was to begin. The listener is thrown inside a sunless void where a growing crescendo of unnerving bows gets louder and louder til the vocals begins. Low's singers joins Gira in a shamanic chant that sounds like a conjury of a greater evil while a satanic flute permeates the air. The lyrics suggest that this evil is hidden inside all of us then they speak the name: lunacy! It's nauseatingly repeated over and over til the music suddenly changes in a disilluded last act where all innocence is lost. The seer has begun. |
| 5 | | Swans
To Be Kind
SHE LOVES US
The best grooves, fat bass sound, vocal improvisation, primordial verses, unnerving lyrics all together in one huge 17 minutes piece. The first 3 minutes has to be one of the most memorable riffs in swans career, in particular for the bass, the organic drum sound and the androgynous "mau mau mau" buried between the massive sounds and prayer like vocalism. Then a crushing drums transition changes the beat to the main rhythm that stays constant except for the increasing loudness and the vocals that blends the sacred and the profane with a cult-like worship prayer constellated by sexual obscenities creating an uncanny result that makes this song so perfect. |
| 4 | | Swans
To Be Kind
SCREENSHOT
Like many other fans this one got me into swans. An ominous bass intro opens and drives the rhythm along with a vicious drum beat while a low guitar appears. The song manages to portray the entire cycle of life and death of human beings without even a single full sentence, rather using brief phrases. The more the build up progresses, the more muddy sound gets vivid adding a sinister piano and droning sounds. Towards the end the brief phrases becomes a statement: "here.now." just to close the song. I think the song could be divided in three acts: the first one is a human coming to life, the second act is death and the third is the awarness of the moment, the realization of being there. What a majestic way to open an album. |
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Soundtracks for the Blind
HELPLESS CHILD
A minimalistic embryonic atmosphere introduces one of the most acclaimed songs by Swans. It's a nihilistic and devastating representation of burden of life, a hate letter from a son to a mother because of generating him, mankind to mother earth, a requiem for existence, pain and sorrow transposed by music. Despite that, Michael sings with numbness an apathy. Halfway the vocals disappears leaving a bare music structure that grows and explodes in a grandiose repetition, slowly reaching it's peak. |
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The Glowing Man
THE GLOWING MAN
The gargantuan title track from the final chapter of the trilogy can be considered the final achievement of the band and the pinnacle of their career. It starts with a transcendental intro but the crazy vocals kicks in with a mix of gregorian chants, mongolian throat singing and traditional's Gira vocals it immediately gets darker. In 28 minutes there's a fantastic blending of acoustic, ethereal, aggressive, distorted, fast and epic. Without doubts the highlight is around 17 with a faster than usual rhythm, haunting backing vocals and some of the best singing by Gira, it all ends with a crushing violence. The lyrics sounds like about some kind of entity named Joseph is taking over the protagonist's head, the nature of Joseph it's purposely ambiguous. The lyrics cleverly combines with the music to portray this subject, when Joseph is speaking the vocals changes, the "i am the glowing man" section suggests the divine nature of the entity simply putting an "i am" after the |
| 1 | | Swans
The Seer
APOSTATE
This is not just a song. This is the perfect closer, a descent into hell that holds every single great element of the album in one big epilogue. We can see it as the evil twin of "a piece of the sky" but instead of uplifting you skyward it drags you in the depths of hell. A majestic haunting soundscape leisurely intensifies becoming louder and louder and exploding in a chaotic marching beat until a menacing silence looms over. Then the second part of the song kicks in and it's basically a mind trip through space and time to the depths of hell. A primal rythm handles this tribal bell-driven part while delusional transcending lyrics that combines spiritual, cosmic and sexual subjects, slowly lose meaning and turns into idioglossia like regressing into a primitive being. At the same time the music fades til the apocalyptic antediluvian percussion ending. This is the perfect way to end this unique bleak journey that is "the Seer". |
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