Swans (band)

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Swans, 1987, from left-right: Jarboe, Ted Parsons, Michael Gira, Algis Kizys, Norman Westberg
Background information
Origin	New York City, New York, USA
Genre(s)	Experimental Art Rock Folk Noise Rock Industrial Post-Punk No-Wave
Years active	1982-1997
Label(s)	Young God Records Caroline/Virgin/EMI Records Atavistic Records
Website	Official Web site
Former members
Michael Gira Jarboe Norman Westberg
Notable instrument(s)
Electric guitar, drum machine, voice

Swans were an influential American rock, experimental, folk and post-industrial band active from 1982 to 1997, led by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira.

Swans were one of the few groups to emerge from the New York, USA No Wave scene intact. The band was formed in 1982 by Michael Gira, and employed a shifting line up of musicians between then and their dissolution in 1997. The only other semi-constant members were keyboardist/vocalist Jarboe, and, to an extent, guitarist Norman Westberg.

[edit] Early Swans (1982-1985)

[edit] Initial influences

The earliest version of Swans comprised Gira on bass guitar and vocals, Jonathan Kane on drums, and Sue Hanel on guitar. Hanel's only recordings with the group are on the compilation Body To Body, Job To Job, but the ambiguous personnel credits do not make it clear on which songs she performed; Kane stated that "Sue was the most fearsome guitarist we’d ever heard in New York. She was unbelievable" [1]

Hanel did not stay long in the group, and by the time of their recording debut, she had been replaced by Bob Pezzola; this edition of the group also featured saxophonist Daniel Galli-Duani. The debut EP, Swans, released on Labor, is markedly different from anything they would do later. The plodding tempos and distorted, detuned guitar work is reminiscent of such post-punk outfits as Joy Division; however, the minimal chord structures owe more to blues (see below), while the jazz instrumentation and awkward time signitures are evidence of Swans' roots in the No Wave scene of the late 1970s, which had more or less collapsed by the release of Cop. The closest reference point to the early Swans sound, as pointed out by one internet reviewer, is probably The Birthday Party, although far less overtly satirical.

[edit] Early press comparisons

Cover of the Filth album from 1983.

In the same article cited above, Kane compares Swans to blues icon Chester Burnett, a.k.a., Howlin' Wolf. While this comparison might initially seem unlikely, there are in fact some similarities worth noting: the music of early Swans was often based on a single riff played repeatedly, to hypnotic effect; some of Burnett's songs -- especially the songs penned by Burnett himself -- have this same structure and quality. Their early music was typified by slow and grinding guitar noise, and pounded drums, punctuated by Gira's morbid and violent lyrics (inspired by Genet and de Sade), usually barked or shouted. Critic Ned Raggett describes Swans' early recordings as "aggressive beyond words."^[1]

Their first full-length release, Filth (1983), featured driving, choppy rhythms and abrasive drums; the whole is vaguely remiscent of heavy metal music, but Raggett contends that "early Swans really is like little else on the planet before or since." [2] Filth was the first album to feature guitarist Norman Westberg, who would play a vital role in much of Swans' music, and who was featured on every album but Love of Life.

Cop (1984) and the originally untitled Young God EP^[2] The music continues in the same vein as Filth, vaguely reminiscent of heavy metal music played in extreme slow motion. Swans were, in this era, comprised of Gira on vocals, Westberg on guitar, Harry Crosby on bass guitar, and Roli Mosimann on drums. Gira's vocals had changed slightly, becoming slowly more melodic, although the snarl still remained. Some of the songs on the EP, particularly "Young God" and "I Crawled", have an actual vocal melody, if rudimentary, hinting at the sounds of future releases.Young God is considered by many to be the best of their early albums for this reason.^[3]

[edit] Audience reaction

One of the trademarks of their early period was playing at painfully loud volumes during concerts, to the point that audience members sometimes vomited and the police sometimes had to force them to cancel. That lent a reputation to the name Swans which was one of the contributing factors in Gira's retirement of the band in 1997.^[4]

[edit] Mid-period Swans (1986-1988)

[edit] Collaboration with Jarboe begins

1986's Greed saw a new addition to the group with vocalist/keyboardist Jarboe joining the band.^[5] Her presence began a slow thawing in the overt brutality and energy of Swans' early work. For example, both the opening track, "Fool", and the title song are sung, albeit rather ominously.

[edit] Collaboration with Algis Kizys begins

Greed also marked the introduction of bassist Algis Kizys as a long-time, near-constant member. The album is not as brutal or noisy as their previous releases but is still an extremely ominous & dark record. This was followed by its "twin" album, Holy Money, first to feature Jarboe on lead vocals.

[edit] Introduction of acoustic elements

Cover of the Children of God album from 1987.

Holy Money was also the first album by Swans to incorporate acoustic elements. In particular, the eight-minute dirge "Another You" starts with a bluesy harmonica introduction. It also marks the introduction of religious themes in Swans records with the sacrificial ode "A Hanging", complete with gospel-like backing vocals from Jarboe.

Children Of God (1987) further expanded Jarboe's role, acting as a foil to Michael Gira's tales of suffering, torture, and humiliation. The stories portrayed here, however, are ever the more unusual, given their juxtaposition - and admixture - with religious imagery. The intention was neither to mock nor embrace religion, but experiment with the power inherent in its wording and the hypocrisy of many of its leaders.^[4]

Some, such as the raging "Beautiful Child", retain the vocal work of earlier days, but many are quite tame: The almost baroque "In My Garden", for example, added an extra dimension with piano (only before on "Fool" and "Sealed in Skin", to far grimmer effect) and acoustic guitar. Some songs walk the line on this front. Obvious examples include "Sex, God, Sex" (heavy metal-like bass riffs with blues and gospel-inspired singing), "Blood and Honey" (murder ballad with early post-rock tendencies), and "Blind Love" (lengthy, alternating between intoned vocals and violent instrumental passages). Gira considers this to be the band's major turning point.

[edit] Later Swans (1988-1997)

[edit] Stylistic shift

After the Children of God album, Gira professed himself tired with the band's fearsome reputation for noise, feeling that their audience now had expectations that he had no intention of fulfilling. He made a conscious decision to tone down the band's sound, introducing more acoustic elements and foregrounding Jarboe as a singer. The first results of this shift in direction were the two records recorded by Gira and Jarboe under the names Skin (in Europe) and World of Skin (in the USA). The first, Blood, Women, Roses, featured Jarboe on lead vocals, and the second, Shame, Humility, Revenge, featured Gira on lead vocals. Both were recorded together in 1987, although Shame, Humility, Revenge was not released until 1988. These albums were full of slow, melancholy, dirge-like songs, sounding like stripped down acoustic versions of the Children of God songs.

The band continued this transformation with an unexpected cover of the Joy Division song "Love Will Tear Us Apart" which was released in 1988 on Product Inc. in a confusing array of 7" and 12" formats. Both Gira and Jarboe sang lead vocals on different versions of the song. In later years Gira dismissed this release as a mistake, and for a long time refused to reissue his own vocal version, although Jarboe's version was re-released much sooner.

[edit] Major label debut

This single was followed by The Burning World (1989), Swans' first and only major label album. Released on MCA in Europe, and its US subsidiary Uni in the US, the record was produced by Bill Laswell and expanded the acoustic palette introduced on Greed and Children of God. For this album, the core line-up of Gira, Jarboe and Westberg was augmented by session musicians, and the distinctive heavy guitar element of their earlier work was toned down significantly in favor of folk and world music elements. Though Swans would later explore more acoustic music with similar moods, Gira has stated that, while he admires much of Laswell's work, his efforts with Swans were simply a mismatch. Certainly the production has a muddy quality that is at odds with the crystalline sound of other Swans albums.

[edit] Flirtations with pop music

The Burning World was the first Swans album to feature more conventional pop melodies, though Gira's lyrics still favored themes of depression, death, greed and despair, though actually sung, rather than the chanting or shouting typical of earlier material. They even covered Steve Winwood's popular Blind Faith hit "Can't Find My Way Home" in 1989, one of two singles from the LP.

In 1990, Gira and Jarboe released the third and final World of Skin album, Ten Songs From Another World. It was less successful than the previous two Skin albums, perhaps because of the expanded line-up.

[edit] End of major label involvement

Cover of the White Light from the Mouth of Infinity album from 1991.

Michael Gira's disillusionment with their MCA exploits led to White Light From The Mouth Of Infinity (1991), a successful blending of earlier hard rock and later pop styles. Produced by Gira, the album blended acoustic rock, blues and hypnotic guitar noise successfully, producing an album more complex than anything they had released in the past. This album was followed by Love Of Life (recorded by Martin Bisi-1992)-, taking the group even farther into experimentation, and then The Great Annihilator (1995), considered to be one of the band's most accessible, possibly through being their most straightforward. The songwriting style and musical approach, however, would take a more unusual turn the next year.

[edit] Demise of Swans

With other projects occupying his time, Michael Gira decided to bring an end to the group with one last album and world tour. Soundtracks For The Blind (1996) was the result: a mammoth two-disc album comprising Jarboe-supplied field recordings, experimental music, dark ambient soundscapes, post-industrial epics, pre-post rock suites and acoustic guitar; Gira, Jarboe and other long time collaborators created one of the most highly regarded albums of their career. Swans Are Dead (1998) brings together live recordings from their 1995 and 1997 tours, documenting the energy and stage presence of Michael Gira and Jarboe.

After dissolving Swans, Gira formed Angels of Light, continued his work with Young God Records and Jarboe continued her solo work.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio Releases

Swans [EP] - (1982)
Filth - (1983)
Cop - (1984)
Young God [EP] - (1984)
Time is Money (Bastard) [EP] - (1986)
Greed - (1986)
A Screw [EP] - (1986)
Holy Money - (1986)
Children of God - (1987)
New Mind [EP] - (1987)
Love Will Tear Us Apart (red) [EP] - (1988)
Love Will Tear Us Apart (black)^[6] [EP] - (1988)
The Burning World - (1989)
Can't Find My Way Home [EP] - (1989)
Saved [EP] - (1989)
White Light From The Mouth Of Infinity - (1991)
Love Of Life - (1992)
Celebrity Lifestyle [EP] - (1994)
The Great Annihilator - (1995)
Die Tür Ist Zu [EP] - (1996)
Failure/Animus [EP] (1996)
Soundtracks for the Blind (1996)

[edit] Live And Other Releases

Public Castration Is A Good Idea [Live] - (1986)
Feel Good Now [Live] - (1989)
Anonymous Bodies In An Empty Room [Live] - (1990)
Body To Body, Job To Job [Live/Compilation] - (1982-85/1991)
Real Love [Live] - (1986/1992)
Kill The Child [Live] - (1985-87/1996)
Omniscience [Live] - (1992)
I Am the Sun/My Buried Child [Live] - (1997)
Children of God/World of Skin [Compilation] - (1997)
Swans Are Dead [Live] - (1998)
Cop/Young God/Greed/Holy Money [Compilation] - (1999)
Various Failures [Compilation] - (1999)
Forever Burned [Compilation] - (2003)

[edit] Singles

Year	Title	Chart positions				Album
Year	Title	US Hot 100	US Modern Rock	US Mainstream Rock	UK	Album
1989	"Saved"	-	#28	-	-	The Burning World

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

^ Raggett, Ned. Greed review. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2006-12-10.
^ This release has been known by several names, usually by one of its two A-sides, such as "I Crawled" or, infamously, as "Raping a Slave". This release is often confused with their self-titled debut.
^ It is also, by critics and fans alike, referred to as their "scariest" album. Even objectively, this could be taken into consideration: The title song is from the point of view of serial killer Ed Gein.
^ ^a ^b Interview with Michael Gira
^ Jarboe's first official recording with the band was on the Time is Money (Bastard) 12", credited simply with "scream" (specifically at the start of the title track). By the time the track was recorded (the summer of 1985), she had already been in the band for around a month. Her first released tracks as lead vocalist and keyboardist for the band were on "You Need Me" on Holy Money and "Blackmail", B-side from the A Screw 12". They both appear on the original CD version of Holy Money and the Greed/Holy Money compilation, while the latter appears in a minimal version on Children of God.
^ There are two versions of said Joy Division cover, one sung by Jarboe ("black") and another by Gira ("red"), and at least a dozen versions of said EP.

Swans

Michael Gira | Jarboe | Algis Kizys | Norman Westberg

Studio Releases

Live and Compilations

Related Articles

Official Site | Young God Records

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