Swans

About

Swans are an experimental rock group hailing from New York City, New York. Originally a product of the "no wave" craze of the early 1980s, they became an experimental post-rock and goth rock band up until their initial breakup in 1997 and again with their reformation in 2010. The band has had multiple lineup changes over the years with the most consistent members being lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and frontman Michael Gira and Norman Westberg on guitar. The multiple studio albums released have amassed critical acclaim from music critics and the group has been popular amongst music-based circles of the internet, most notably of the /mu/ board on 4chan.

Early History

Swans formed as a band in 1982, with their first release of their self-titled EP. Throughout the early to mid-1980s, they performed as an industrial rock band, releasing multiple studio records under the genre, those being Filth, Cop, Greed, and Holy Money.

In the late 80s, Swans would transform their sound into a more gothic rock sound, with albums like Children of God and White Light from the Mouth of Infinity before releasing their first magnum opus of "Soundtracks for the Blind" in 1996, and subsequently breaking up in 1997. After partaking in a number of side projects, such as the folk band Angels of Light, Michael Gira reformed the band in 2010 and released My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky after nearly 13 years of studio silence. Two years later, in 2012, Swans would release The Seer, which would amass critical praise upon its release.

To Be Kind

On May 12th, 2014, Swans released the album To Be Kind. The album not only received critical praise across music reviewing websites but also managed to break into the top 40 of both the US Billboard 200 and UK Album charts for the first time. The album also received recognition by YouTube music reviewer Anthony Fantano, who notably awarded the album a perfect score, his second time since awarding it to Death Grips' "The Money Store" (shown below).

Second hiatus

After the release of their album The Glowing Man and touring, in 2017, Michael Gira announced that the band was going on another hiatus, with Gira planning to bring in multiple contributors through an interchanging lineup.^[1] The band would begin recording of their next studio effort in February 2019, later released on October 25th under the title leaving meaning.

Online Relevance

Swans' official Facebook page as of May 2019 sports over 214,000 likes and an Instagram account with 36.3k followers.^[2][3] They also have a subreddit dedicated to the discussion of the band.^[4]

External Links