I highly recomend u listening to Swans Are Dead live album, it has the Best songs of Swans imo (Not Alone), a awesome version of Blood Promise and the best vocal performance of Jarboe in I Crawled. Check it out one day please!
Fun fact about mother father: I watched a documentary for swans and for the great annihilator they said the studio they recorded in was awful and infested with mosquitoes but despite that jarboe said she gave one of her absolute best performance she’s done for mother father only to discover they forgot to hit record
Swans Are Dead battles for the title of my favourite album by them from time to time. It's a live album, and it includes original songs that probably would've had studio versions on a future album if Swans wasn't, well... dead, and some songs from The Great Annihilator (including an EPIC 15-minute rendition of Blood Promise) and songs from Soundtracks for the Blind. It also includes some songs from Michael Gira's solo career! Feel Happiness is one of the original songs, it is featured nowhere else and is my favourite Swans song right now, even if that title changes every 10 minutes. But, it forever will hold to crown of my favourite moment from Swans ever!! anyways, rip swans, they died, what losers, everybody point and laugh
Please do Swans Are Dead next, it is mostly comprised of live versions of Great Annihilator and Soundtracks songs (the blood promise live version will blow your mind), plus really good versions of old songs. Also a completely original song in Feel Happiness which alone makes it worth listening to
You mention that Gira has sounded pretty consistently like him throughout the albums youve heard so far, which is funny to me considering how he sounds on their first few albums. Id love to see you react to filth someday since its such a departure from their later albums
you should check out This Heat, they’re an absolutely INSANE experimental band from the late 70s-early 80s. genuinely their stuff still sounds modern to this day. i don’t have a definitive starting point for you, so i’ll lay out the three albums that’d most likely pique your interest with descriptions of them Made Available Peel Sessions (1977) - studio sessions for John Peel’s radio show. the opening track will blow your mind and make you ask yourself “this was recorded in 1977?!” the entire time. contains songs from their self titled and deceit before they were released, along with a couple otherwise unreleased improvisations. not a very cohesive album but the performances are amazing. This Heat (1979) - their first studio album, an abstract landscape of an industrial dystopia. songs dissolve into eachother to form pure constructs of alien textures and hypnotic meditations. an incredibly eye-opening experience, the tracks should feel cobbled together considering the amount of experimentation but they flow majestically to craft what feels like an art film in music form. my favorite album from them, even if i come back to the songs on deceit more. Deceit (1981) - their final album, and much more “traditional” (comparatively) than their debut. prophetic masterpieces in songwriting glued together with the avant garde sonic experiments they had previously explored. paper hats laid the foundation of math rock, spqr is a punky bop, makeshift swahili is terrifying, a new kind of water is the absolute peak of post punk. a fitting end to their 6 year silent reign of terror.
Was just about to recommend Swans are Dead but everyone's already done it, it seems. But yes Swans are Dead is really good and has a different version of Blood Promise that's one of their best imo. It's a similar structure to Helpless Child with the first half being lyrics and the second a hypnotic instrumental. Also I love Mind/Body/Light/Sound from this album the most I think it's just so hypnotic. Also also at some point in your Swans journey you should listen to the Angels of Light album How I Loved You. It's a different band that Michael Gira was the lead singer for but it still feels very Swans. I heard it recently and liked it quite a lot, I'd recommend it
Surprised nobody has mentioned Filth yet, their debut album, especially with how much interest you show with the heavier moments on this album I think you'd really enjoy Filth. It's easily their heaviest album, it's super dark, intense, noisy, industrial, and all around a great listen!
Or Holy Money/A Screw (or even Public Castration is good idea Live album for even more chaos. Love this version th-cam.com/video/YSRjYYUE-_c/w-d-xo.htmlsi=3kZ4N1XU6PK7XaxI ).
Jarboe pre-revival Swans is as essential to the band's audial aesthetic as Gira himself. Not to diminish the other members' contributions because they also add their own thing, but yeah Jarboe was such a powerful voice for the band.
100% agree with the SFTB connections, this album has always felt like a much more accessible and easy to get into counterpart to SFTB (in a good way). Hell, this is usually the one I suggest for people that wanna get into the band. It's so much more to the point than swans usually is in terms of individual songs, but the album layout itself still feels monolithic like you'd expect from them, and you always have those weird quirks that you really only expect from a swans record (i still can't get over that Gira fr was like "lmao lets just crossfade some completely unrelated thing at the end of She Lives" and I actually fw it because the sheer audacity makes it works somehow) I Am The Sun is genuinely my favorite swans track i think. (not just the version here, Swans Are Dead has a version which is also amazing and way closer to what you'd expect from a swans track) my suggestions are Filth and Swans Are Dead: I don't have much to say about Filth tbh, but it is VERY different so it would absolutely scratch that itch for different-than-post-rock swans. also you should def listen to some old swans stuff so yknow. (p.s. their self-titled EP is also genuinely fire tho its only 4 tracks, part of the Filth deluxe thing) meanwhile SAD is cool because the connections between TGA and SFTB open up tenfold, honestly kinda feels like a trilogy despite being a live album. weird as hell. one warning though, disc one is material from their '97 set and disc two is '95. the '97 set is very much in its own wheelhouse and feels specifically designed to be the finale to Swans discog up until then, the whole reason why that live album is called "Swans Are Dead" in the first place and why people talk about this album so much as if it was more than a live project. however they also included disc two (i'm assuming they put it as disc two to kind of act like a bonus disc?? idk). The '95 set mostly includes standard live versions of TGA/SFTB era stuff, an actual straight-forward live album. It's cool and worth listening as a fan don't get me wrong, just keep that in mind once you do listen to it cuz I and many others were kinda misled by how the fans talk about it.
she lives' outro is one of my favorite moments in all of music. if you do live albums, "Public Castration is a Good idea" is a great one. it's very raw and powerful, particularly "a screw" and "a hanging"
Love this Album so much, this thing is such a beast on loud speakers, the big drums on songs like she lives just pulsate through your body, it creeps inside your body it's just so menacing
This is an amazing album without it feeling too overwhelming like the trilogy and SFTB, I’d also love to see Swans are Dead, keep rocking it man love your videos! ❤
A few recommendations for your consideration: - Two of Me by Momma - Cassadaga by Bright Eyes - Brand New Soul by Angel Du$t - The Mars Volta by The Mars Volta 🍻
Children of god and white light from the mouth of infinity are the 2 albums that i go back to the most but there are always moments on every album of swans that scratch an itch that few others touch, the other acts that are similar but again completely different are einstruzende neubauten and Coil. For a more lighthearted but equally experimental and bizarre twisted musical experience has anyone ever recommended Cardiacs
![[UNCUT] “อภิสิทธิ์” ครม.อุ๊งอิ๊ง แย่งเก้าอี้กันฝุ่นตลบ “ทักษิณ” บงการเอง Iคนดังนั่งเคลียร์I 21ส.ค.67](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/a_b-kItw2jY/mqdefault.jpg)
Next one HAS to be Swans are Dead, one of the best live albums of all time
agreed.
I highly recomend u listening to Swans Are Dead live album, it has the Best songs of Swans imo (Not Alone), a awesome version of Blood Promise and the best vocal performance of Jarboe in I Crawled. Check it out one day please!
Hes right!!!
agreed w the swans are dead recommendation
Fun fact about mother father: I watched a documentary for swans and for the great annihilator they said the studio they recorded in was awful and infested with mosquitoes but despite that jarboe said she gave one of her absolute best performance she’s done for mother father only to discover they forgot to hit record
Blood Promise is one of my fav Swans song. Its so beautiful, haunting, deep. The lyrics, the atmosphere, 10/10 song. Same with Killing For Company
And then the Swans Are Dead version just takes it to another level
Swans Are Dead battles for the title of my favourite album by them from time to time. It's a live album, and it includes original songs that probably would've had studio versions on a future album if Swans wasn't, well... dead, and some songs from The Great Annihilator (including an EPIC 15-minute rendition of Blood Promise) and songs from Soundtracks for the Blind. It also includes some songs from Michael Gira's solo career!
Feel Happiness is one of the original songs, it is featured nowhere else and is my favourite Swans song right now, even if that title changes every 10 minutes. But, it forever will hold to crown of my favourite moment from Swans ever!! anyways, rip swans, they died, what losers, everybody point and laugh
Please do Swans Are Dead next, it is mostly comprised of live versions of Great Annihilator and Soundtracks songs (the blood promise live version will blow your mind), plus really good versions of old songs. Also a completely original song in Feel Happiness which alone makes it worth listening to
You mention that Gira has sounded pretty consistently like him throughout the albums youve heard so far, which is funny to me considering how he sounds on their first few albums. Id love to see you react to filth someday since its such a departure from their later albums
you should check out This Heat, they’re an absolutely INSANE experimental band from the late 70s-early 80s. genuinely their stuff still sounds modern to this day. i don’t have a definitive starting point for you, so i’ll lay out the three albums that’d most likely pique your interest with descriptions of them
Made Available Peel Sessions (1977) - studio sessions for John Peel’s radio show. the opening track will blow your mind and make you ask yourself “this was recorded in 1977?!” the entire time. contains songs from their self titled and deceit before they were released, along with a couple otherwise unreleased improvisations. not a very cohesive album but the performances are amazing.
This Heat (1979) - their first studio album, an abstract landscape of an industrial dystopia. songs dissolve into eachother to form pure constructs of alien textures and hypnotic meditations. an incredibly eye-opening experience, the tracks should feel cobbled together considering the amount of experimentation but they flow majestically to craft what feels like an art film in music form. my favorite album from them, even if i come back to the songs on deceit more.
Deceit (1981) - their final album, and much more “traditional” (comparatively) than their debut. prophetic masterpieces in songwriting glued together with the avant garde sonic experiments they had previously explored. paper hats laid the foundation of math rock, spqr is a punky bop, makeshift swahili is terrifying, a new kind of water is the absolute peak of post punk. a fitting end to their 6 year silent reign of terror.
nice c93 pfp
along with early Krautrock albums as well!
Was just about to recommend Swans are Dead but everyone's already done it, it seems. But yes Swans are Dead is really good and has a different version of Blood Promise that's one of their best imo. It's a similar structure to Helpless Child with the first half being lyrics and the second a hypnotic instrumental. Also I love Mind/Body/Light/Sound from this album the most I think it's just so hypnotic.
Also also at some point in your Swans journey you should listen to the Angels of Light album How I Loved You. It's a different band that Michael Gira was the lead singer for but it still feels very Swans. I heard it recently and liked it quite a lot, I'd recommend it
mind/body/light/sound sounds REALLY different in the remaster, you should listen to the original version too!!
i really prefer the remaster, not sure if im in the minority there. obviously worth hearing both!
ok, now do the White Light From The Mouth Of Infinity & Love Of Life duology. you are ready.
YES!
Surprised nobody has mentioned Filth yet, their debut album, especially with how much interest you show with the heavier moments on this album I think you'd really enjoy Filth. It's easily their heaviest album, it's super dark, intense, noisy, industrial, and all around a great listen!
Or Holy Money/A Screw (or even Public Castration is good idea Live album for even more chaos. Love this version th-cam.com/video/YSRjYYUE-_c/w-d-xo.htmlsi=3kZ4N1XU6PK7XaxI ).
Jarboe pre-revival Swans is as essential to the band's audial aesthetic as Gira himself. Not to diminish the other members' contributions because they also add their own thing, but yeah Jarboe was such a powerful voice for the band.
100% agree with the SFTB connections, this album has always felt like a much more accessible and easy to get into counterpart to SFTB (in a good way). Hell, this is usually the one I suggest for people that wanna get into the band.
It's so much more to the point than swans usually is in terms of individual songs, but the album layout itself still feels monolithic like you'd expect from them, and you always have those weird quirks that you really only expect from a swans record (i still can't get over that Gira fr was like "lmao lets just crossfade some completely unrelated thing at the end of She Lives" and I actually fw it because the sheer audacity makes it works somehow)
I Am The Sun is genuinely my favorite swans track i think. (not just the version here, Swans Are Dead has a version which is also amazing and way closer to what you'd expect from a swans track)
my suggestions are Filth and Swans Are Dead:
I don't have much to say about Filth tbh, but it is VERY different so it would absolutely scratch that itch for different-than-post-rock swans. also you should def listen to some old swans stuff so yknow. (p.s. their self-titled EP is also genuinely fire tho its only 4 tracks, part of the Filth deluxe thing)
meanwhile SAD is cool because the connections between TGA and SFTB open up tenfold, honestly kinda feels like a trilogy despite being a live album. weird as hell.
one warning though, disc one is material from their '97 set and disc two is '95.
the '97 set is very much in its own wheelhouse and feels specifically designed to be the finale to Swans discog up until then, the whole reason why that live album is called "Swans Are Dead" in the first place and why people talk about this album so much as if it was more than a live project.
however they also included disc two (i'm assuming they put it as disc two to kind of act like a bonus disc?? idk). The '95 set mostly includes standard live versions of TGA/SFTB era stuff, an actual straight-forward live album. It's cool and worth listening as a fan don't get me wrong, just keep that in mind once you do listen to it cuz I and many others were kinda misled by how the fans talk about it.
she lives' outro is one of my favorite moments in all of music. if you do live albums, "Public Castration is a Good idea" is a great one. it's very raw and powerful, particularly "a screw" and "a hanging"
Love this Album so much, this thing is such a beast on loud speakers, the big drums on songs like she lives just pulsate through your body, it creeps inside your body it's just so menacing
Mind Body Light Sound is Swans doing shoegaze and you can't convince me otherwise
please do Children of God
also remember to pay attention to the lyrics in that one
I like how The Great Annihillator track had a fake out fade out and just fades back in before it actually ends
Oh hell yess!!! Best notifications ever
Hells yeah, def one of my favorite Swans records. Gira has such a wonderful and evil sounding singing voice
This is an amazing album without it feeling too overwhelming like the trilogy and SFTB, I’d also love to see Swans are Dead, keep rocking it man love your videos! ❤
Its more accessible but not to the point where its generic and boring. This album is dark, mysterious, unsettling and kind of apocalyptic sounding.
Please do White Light from the Mouth of Infinity! Blind is such a legendary song!
Oh and various failures complications are also really feckin amazing
Blood Promise is about Christ accepting His own crucifixion to save mankind
Yaaay more swans!!!
You should do Swans Are Dead next, SFTB is my favorite Swans album overall but SAD is their best one song-for-song imo
I’m here to join the crowd and echo my comment on your other post that Swans Are Dead is peak imo.
My fav Swans album. Just bought re-press of the vinyl signed my Michael Gira.
great album
Wake up, new Cisnes react
Great video!
great vid bro ❤. Would love to see your reaction on any Beach house album(Bloom or depression cherry would be nice tho).
You have to ckeck out live version of Blood Promise from Swans Are Dead. The best version ever.
A few recommendations for your consideration:
- Two of Me by Momma
- Cassadaga by Bright Eyes
- Brand New Soul by Angel Du$t
- The Mars Volta by The Mars Volta
🍻
WHITE LIGHT FROM THE MOUTH OF INFINITY!!!! :D
Children of god and white light from the mouth of infinity are the 2 albums that i go back to the most but there are always moments on every album of swans that scratch an itch that few others touch, the other acts that are similar but again completely different are einstruzende neubauten and Coil. For a more lighthearted but equally experimental and bizarre twisted musical experience has anyone ever recommended Cardiacs
I think you need to do White Light..... next. Trust me
Love this album, glad it has such a respectable cult following.
Gira loves to sing about the sun
Another comment recommending White Light From The Mouth Of Infinity. One of the best post-punk albums
Look up Anna von Hausswolff who toured with Swans. Live at Montreux Jazz Festival is a good pick.
do mount eerie or the glow pt2 next
There’s 3 more albums you should check out next by them:children of god,white light,swans are dead
you should listen to viva last blues by palace music
More Sigur Rós please❤
It will happen I promise :)
You really should listen to Swans are Dead
I luv tater tot
"The Great Annihilator" is a pretty blatant repurposing of The Beatles' "To Here Knows When".