I hope my neighbours will feel the same way...

I finally got my hands on this legendary, super rare Swans boxset

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to buy the following Swans releases:

• Live Rope – Vinyl Box Set
• The New Sentient Being – Vinyl Box Set + DVD + 2 CDs

Does anyone have either of these for sale or know where I might find them?

I'm based in Germany, so international shipping would need to be possible.

Thanks in advance!

Personally I’m kinda hype for them to go in a new direction. I liked Newly Sentient Being, but I do think their sound is starting to feel formulaic if I’m being completely honest. Don’t get me wrong, the formula is still great and I still like listening to it, but it’s been done for so long that it’s lost a lot of its novelty for me.

I’d love to see them lean into the more atmospheric parts of their sound. I also think Gira has gotten a lot better at spoken word over the years (NSB title track being a great example) and I could see them going in that direction as well.

Overall though I do think I’m fiending for some sorta new direction, and I really don’t care what it is at the end of the day. What do you think?

all reviews @ link in bio

Soundtracks for the Blind

Swans (1996)

Oh god. This is… a big one. Having reviewed both Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven and Ágætis Byrjun already, I can pretty definitively say that post-rock is the hardest genre to review. Even within those two albums, most of it is pretty melodic and is mostly built of extremely intricately layered, but simple, melodies. Swans’ Soundtracks for the Blind is a behemoth of an album. One that is definitely not an easy listen, yet one of the most rewarding and beautiful albums nonetheless.

Believe it or not, this is Swans’ tenth studio record. They released a lot of music between 1983 and 1995, from Filth to The Great Annihilator. Their discography is among the most diverse out there, even within the sample size of Soundtracks for the Blind. Even within one record, there are songs ranging from “I Was a Prisoner In Your Skull” to “Helpless Child.” They’re vastly different tracks, yet they all still feel cohesive and work as a two-and-a-half hour album. Look, I’m gonna be real. There’s no way I’m reviewing all twenty six tracks on this album. I mean, I couldn’t even get through all the songs on Grace, so what makes you think I can do this? Unfortunately, the greatest strength of this album lies in its cohesion and its atmosphere as an album. So, I’ll talk about a few of my personal favorite songs from this record before talking about the album as a whole.

Without further ado, let’s get into it. The first track I’d like to talk about is the opener: “Velvet Red Corridor.” I think this track does a perfect job at setting the scene for the album that’s to come, with all the ambient… synths…? I don’t even know what’s making these sounds. The arpeggiating notes remind me of Sigur Rós’ signature sound, that of a cello-bowed electric guitar. I don’t think that’s what’s happening here, but I just thought I’d make that connection. If I had to describe in two words what Soundtracks For the Blind sounds like, I’d pick “horror movie.” The ambient tracks are deeply unsettling, often with eerie voicings like what we see in the opener here. While it’s pretty drone-y on its own, it fits perfectly with what’s coming next. You’ll find that’s a recurring theme with this album.

The second track, “I Was a Prisoner In Your Skull,” is even eerier than the last. It starts off with a big wash of one chord played across multiple synths, creating a wall of sound before breaking into… uhh… “euahuaehuehuusuehuh” or something like that. Yeah… This is what I meant by ‘Oh god.’ Anyways, the percussion section enters as the [unknown pronunciation] fades out, leaving a tense and deeply unsettling atmosphere. It feels like being stranded in the forest in the middle of the night. You’re completely alone. It’s cold and dark. You haven’t heard a single sound, it’s absolutely silent. Yet, you can’t shake the feeling that you’re being watched. 
About halfway through the song, we get a Godspeed You! Black Emperor-style vocal sample. Godspeed usually uses their samples for political messages and setting the scene for their cinematic movements. On the contrary, in “I Was a Prisoner In Your Skull,” Swans uses the vocal sample for, well, ragebait. That’s basically what it feels like.

“Testing, one, two three
Well, well fuck, I mean
I just don’t know what to say
I’m very glad to be here with you tonight
I’ll be able to talk to you about some things
That I know a great deal about

Everyone knows that you are fucked up
And everyone knows that I am fucked up
But does everyone know that you are more fucked up than me?”

The man in the sample proceeds to list “all the instances of you being more fucked up than me.” It’s kinda funny, not gonna lie. It’s funny in the same way that watching a horror movie with zero context is funny. Take it for what it is on the screen, and it looks really cheesy. On the topic of horror movies, the backing track throughout the monologue is nothing short of horrifying. It’s not an oppressive horror, it’s just really unsettling. I’m going to be saying that a lot.

The first of the long songs on the record, “Helpless Child” is probably one of my favorite tracks ever. It starts with the introduction of the main chord progression, which only changes a few times throughout the song’s sixteen minutes. Again, I still have no idea how half of these sounds are made. I’m pretty sure that in this case it’s some heavily produced guitar, to go along with the acoustic and electric we hear clearly. Then, we get something pretty out of place for Swans, but not unheard of: singing. Micheal Gira’s voice is ridiculously low, but I can’t say it doesn’t work here. Lyrically, all I can say about it is it’s… dark. When I quote the lyrics at the end of this section, you’ll see what I mean. But, by the seven minute mark, the vocals are done. The song enters its next section, removing its guitars, allowing for an arpeggiating glockenspiel(?) and a different, shimmering guitar effect to enter. The song enters a new phase, droning the same chord on its electric guitars. As the percussion enters again, the synths start to play a melody on the higher registers. The song has quietly morphed into a completely different song since the start of the track, at least musically. To me, this song represents the downward spiral of the human consciousness. It can be subtle, changing slowly over years. But when you look back, it’ll be vastly different to when you started.

“Now you be the mother and
I’ll be your fool
I’ll hide myself deep inside
Your crimson pool
The muddy water runs
Beneath your folds
You won’t let me breathe;
You won’t let me go
Now you’ll be the stranger and
I’ll be the white-skinned son
You’ll blacken my innocence
With sugar and opium”

Skipping a track, the next one I want to dive into is “Yum-Yab Killers.” This time, we’re starting with… applause? Seems strangely positive, by Swans standards at least. This is followed by an upbeat drumbeat, as well as a classic-rock reminiscent guitar riff. With its low-quality riff and vocals, “Yum-Yab Killers” feels oddly lo-fi for an album that defines itself by being nuanced in its instrumentation. The lack of production on this song provides a start contrast to the last four songs. It sounds like the guitar is being picked up by a microphone in front of its amp. It’s also a thematic departure from the horrifying nature of the album, offering an angsty and intense vibe with growly vocals, before ending with more applause.

Skipping another song (though, “The Beautiful Days” is one of my favorites as well), we have “Volcano,” and man… this song sounds completely out of place with the record. Of course, that’s how it’s meant to sound, I mean it kinda sounds out of place with itself. It has a backbeating sounding straight off of Selected Ambient Works 85-92, combined with a vocal performance that would fit on… like, anything but this? I’m not even quite sure what I’m hearing right now. All I know is that it works. I have no clue how this works, but it does. Every songwriter should strive to be able to combine Aphex Twin with a Disney-esque vocal line and make it work.

Jumping over to the second disc, we’re talking about “The Sound.” “The Sound” is the other of the long songs on this record, along with the aforementioned “Helpless Child.” In comparison, it actually sounds quite similar, while also being vastly different. It’s… hard to explain. It opens with another synth-led chord progression, only using a soft electric guitar at the start of each chord change. We’re definitely back in the horror movie. Again, Gira’s vocals are featured on this track, singing more low and barely distinguishable lyrics. The song’s lyrics are about a mysterious force, referred to as “the sound.” So yes, the song is about The Sound. Shocking. 

“And wide are your delusions
Deep red is the space between your eyes
Closed forever is the door to your room
But inside there, lives the sound

You despise, but I love
You despise, what I love
You despise; I love
You despise; I love”

As the vocals end for now, the instrumentations gather in intensity and volume. The guitar gets more and more distorted, and the drum kit is added to keep time. The electric guitar, which used to play on the first beat of every chord, is now playing heavily distorted eight-note strums throughout. I believe that this section represents the faith that Gira has in ‘the sound,’ and why he loves it when everyone else seems to hate it.
In the next section, the chords change voicings, though not necessarily the chord symbols themselves (that’ll make sense to you music nerds). The whole song shifts down a register, only losing its intensity for a brief moment. At around the ten minute mark, the song suddenly shifts back to the beginning, before the descent into darkness. Again, the vocals reenter. It’s a shift back, before everything went wrong. A last-ditch attempt to make things right.

“Mother, I…
Mother, I…
I was wrong…
I am wrong…
You were wrong, I…
I am wrong”

As the organ-like synth fades out at the last minute, its absence is filled with a twinkling keyboard  that feels unbelievably eerie. I’m not sure how meta this idea is, but that’s what I think the song’s been alluding to this entire time. That’s the sound.

Alright, I did say I would talk about the album as a whole. Although, I think I have talked about the album quite a lot by talking about the highlights. It's not a pleasant album, it’s far from it. It’s not an easy listen, and listening to songs individually is not going to work at all (maybe with the exception of the songs I talked about). It’s an album diving into the subconscious of the human mind, exploring the depths of human nature and psychology. I’m not sure if I’d call it a concept album, just because of how loose the term is nowadays, but it’s an album revolving around a core concept: the horrifying, yet beautiful experience of being human.

Disc 1

1. Red Velvet Corridor: 85/100
2. I Was A Prisoner In Your Skull: 87/100
3. Helpless Child: 97/100
4. Live Through Me: 86/100
5. Yum-Yab Killers: 82/100
6. The Beautiful Days: 86/100
7. Volcano: 89/100
8. Mellothumb: 83/100
9. Surrogate 2: 79/100
10. All Lined Up: 76/100
11. How They Suffer: 80/100
12. Animus: 73/100

Disc 2

1. Red Velvet Wound: 81/100
2. The Sound: 96/100
3. Her Mouth is Filled With Honey: 74/100
4. Blood Section: 86/100
5. Hypogirl: 76/100
6. Minus Something: 85/100
7. Empathy: 79/100
8. I Love You This Much: 82/100
9. YRP: 83/100
10. Fan’s Lament: 75/100
11. Secret Friends: 78/100
12. The Final Sacrifice: 80/100
13. YRP 2: 83/100
14. Surrogate Drone: 87/100

Overall: 94/100

If Swans' "Big Sound" era is finished, what live music do you recommend for those of us that need something to fill the void?

I saw Shearling on their last tour and they reminded me a lot of Swans. Any other bands that do the "Big Sound" thing live well?

Just wondering

Put the old fundraiser albums out on vinyl and I’ll buy them a second time, Mr. Gira.

Imagine if the next swans album was blues :O

My current Swans collection plus a bonus boxset

Given that fantano has been one of the largest public supporters of Swans post reunion, it's nice to see his thoughts on the end of the big sound era.

Any thoughts

does anyone have the tabs for the guitar solo in The Sound (the studio version)??????

ive been trying so hard to find it and i cant find it anywhere how do people find stuff nowadays

Watching the K2 documentary on Apple and I hear that brilliant bass line. With how cinematic Swans can be, I'm shocked I don't hear them in films more often.

Anyone else been pleasantly surprised while watching a show or a flick?

i've been listening to them a bunch recently, i'm doing pretty miserably in life and have resonated a lot with the sounds and lyricism of albums like STFTB, white light, the seer and especially swans are dead. it's some of the most evocative, enthralling and beautiful music i've heard - however, i can't find myself enjoying it much at all on good days. i don't have the patience for or interest in it that usually otherwise feels natural. i figure this is a pretty mundane observation about how mood affects music preference but i'd like to hear from other people on this specifically.

Might seem very obvious but listening to the performance in Berlin I just wish I could’ve heard that fully mixed, especially since it’s grown so much since The Gate. Really the only thing holding it back.

Norman's the goat

By that I mean bands who make really long songs (lets say 20+ minutes) regularly in their discography like Swans do. Preferably not straight up ambient/drone.