Swans / The Early (Very Dark) Years

Swans

I don't think there are words that can accurately describe the Swans' music. N0-Wave. Yep... but not noisy in the same way as Sonic Youth. Industrial. Yep... but not quite as mechanical as Throbbing Gristle. Goth. Sort-of... but not glam or melodic like Bauhaus.

Their unique sound transformed over the years from the haunting existentialism of their early records to the beauty of their 'Saved' years and back to darkness through the latter years. Here's a collection of their early recordings leading up to their first spiritual album, Children of God. I'd say... "Enjoy!", but I'm not sure if this music was made to be truly enjoyed.



Swans / Filth + EP#1
Recorded 1982 - 1983

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Swans' first release was anything but the slow-motion death march which would rapidly become the band's early raison d'être. Gira's lyrics certainly aren't pretty; the urban angst and alienation level ratchets up high with images of dogs' hearts pumping blood on sidewalks and anonymous, violent sex, though all delivered in a slightly aggrieved and quietly mixed rather than soul-destroyed tone. However, the music also often has a quick, sharp energy to it, rather unlike the 2/2 tempos in the offing. An unavoidable influence in the crisp, echoed production and general feel is Joy Division, a debt not repaid fully until Swans' dual covers of "Love Will Tear Us Apart" in 1988. Hints of other post-punk and no wave peers creep in as well, a feeling especially created by Daniel Galli-Duani's saxophone, which generally avoids random skronk for careful shading and atmosphere. Bob Pezzola's guitar work is the standout here, though; his Bernard Sumner-ish art-metal chiming is quite good, but utterly unlike the blasts of sound Norman Westberg would soon be unleashing in his place. On balance, this is a fair release covering a sound that Swans would never again revisit.

With only Gira and Kane carrying over from the first EP's lineup, the truly bizarre thing about Swans' first full release is that, in its own angry beyond all anger way, you can actually dance to it at very brief points. Admittedly, spasmodic jerking-around might be the more expected response (and given that Gira physically attacked an audience member at a show around the time of this album's release for "getting into it too much," maybe the safer one). But the point remains that the overwhelming angst-and-death on songs like "Big Strong Boss," with lyrics like "Cut my throat, kill me snake, do what I say, you're the boss, " sometimes gets married close enough to a groove that it's almost surprising. For the most part, though, the drums (courtesy in part of future Young Gods producer Roli Mosimann) pound away almost like a ritual, doomy bass and grinding guitars sound like prime Black Sabbath at even danker levels of destruction, and Gira sounds like he's ripping his soul from his throat every time another lyric is half-barked, half-wailed, sometimes with a little electronic distortion help. As might be guessed, the only light in the lyrical tunnels comes from an oncoming train, as song titles like "Power for Power" and "Weakling" would indicate; even "Thank You" has lines such as "This smells sour, burn my face." Norman Westberg's guitar work has a definite power to it, and occasional studio manipulations like the chopped up/sped up "Freak" keep things interesting, but by the end it all gets a bit much. In small doses, though, it's great, and early Swans really is like little else on the planet before or since. - Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

Swans / Cop
Recorded 1984

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Consisting of a four-piece lineup -- Mosimann on drums, Westberg on guitar, Harry Crosby on bass, and naturally Gira on vocals -- on their second full album Swans add even more vicious crunch to their basic approach, resulting in quite possibly one of the darkest recordings ever done. Gira's words come across a little more forcefully and cleanly than before, and the existential horror shows that he details, almost always phrased in confessional/accusatory "I - you" terms, make up in sheer power what they lack in any kind of subtlety. For example, typical lyrics, from the snarling "Your Property" state: "I give you money -- you're superior. I don't exist. You control me." Matching his at-times unearthly moans and cries perfectly, the pounding music mostly consists of one slow, descending chord progression or a repetitive series of one or two notes after another, extending the power of loud feedback and amped drums to indescribably forceful effect. The opening grind alone on "Why Hide," as Westberg stretches out his strings behind Mosimann and Crosby's pummeling, is crushing enough before Gira delivers a harrowing vocal. The most legendary track from the album is the title cut; as a vicious anti-boys-in-blue rant finds its equal only in N.W.A.'s "Fuck Da Police." With such thoroughly bilious Gira lines as "Nobody rapes you like a cop in jail" providing the mental pictures, a slow, steady punch of music gets slowly but surely more aggressive and destructive as the song unfolds to its raging conclusion. Jim Thirlwell, aka Foetus, helps contribute to the apocalyptic noise on the release, but you somehow figure that Swans would have reached this state quite well on their own regardless. Ugly, compelling, and overpowering, Cop remains the pinnacle of Swans' brutal early days. - Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

Swans / Greed
Released 1986

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Featuring two bassists -- Crosby and newcomer Algis Kizys -- and no less than three drummers -- Gonzalez, Ted Parsons, and Ivan Nahem -- Greed marks the initial turning point of Swans towards more varied and ultimately even more astonishing musical heights than the early records, which were aggressive beyond all words, ever indicated. The opening track "Fool" demonstrates as much, being almost wholly piano-based, though the portentous echo of the notes along with grinding guitar noises underlying Gira's ever-more commanding, raspy singing (as opposed to shouting) mean that it's all still very much Swans. An increasing spaciousness and sense of more stripped-down arrangements also show up, along with some slightly more active tempos. "Anything for You" has Gira's strangled wail of earlier days, but the music is a little calmer, a little more restrained; "Stupid Child" uses a delicate playing of cymbals as effectively as the expected slow percussion rumbles. Lyrically, unsurprisingly, things are little different from before, with images of utter self-loathing, power, domination, and economic corrosion of the soul dominating Gira's words, though at times interesting new elements creep in as well. On "Heaven," for instance, Gira resignedly sings of a "heaven" which could be that of dying victims or of exhausted lovers, a fascinating double image. Jarboe makes her presence known on a number of songs, most effectively on the title track, where her wordless background vocals constantly loop in and out of the mix (notably, despite the title, Gira here sings of emotional isolation rather than the monetary greed expected given such other songs on the album as "Money Is Flesh," a slightly calmer semi-cousin to "Time Is Money (Bastard)"). - Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

Swans / Holy Money
Released 1986

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Also recorded at the sessions for Greed and A Screw (the album actually contains the "Holy Money" mix of said single), Holy Money is logically similar in general tone and feel to those releases, mixing the established Swans blueprint of lyrical and musical extremity with an ever-broader range and, at times, a broader delicacy than before. "A Hanging" helps to showcase Jarboe's increasing role with the band. Her striking, semi-gospel wails mix with the storm-cloud-laden music, which builds into a massive tribal drum pattern, while Gira sings of self-sacrifice to what sounds like a very unforgiving deity. This immediately leads into the brief "You Need Me," where Jarboe's haunting voice sings a lyric of apology solely over echoed piano. Such unexpected twists crop up throughout Holy Money, as the band engages in a fruitful search for new musical directions. Greed's "Fool" is revisited as "Fool #2," transformed into an equally ominous track, but this time accompanied by almost majestic electric guitar and drums along with the original piano and keyboards. Gira's vocals are notably clearer in this piece, though the lyrics are hardly any less gentle. Another Greed track, "Money Is Flesh," gets its own drastic remake on the album as well. "Another You," meanwhile, has distinctly strange and beautiful -- in an alien way -- guitar scrapes and shades which provide texture to the lengthy track, with one of Gira's most obsessive interpersonal lyrics (and one of his best vocals up to that time) further gracing it. Ending with "Coward" -- contrasting almost intimate if still haunted upfront Gira's spoken vocals set against a buried series of his screams and shouts in the background of the mix over a repetitive crunch of guitar, bass, and drums -- Holy Money well documents the continuing transformation of Swans into a more complex, intriguing beast. - Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

Swans / Children of God
Released 1987

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Kicking off with "New Mind" -- which, while having the same general pace of most earlier Swans songs, also sounds distinctly different with its clearer, inventive arrangement, call-and-response vocals, and Gira's declamatory but not screamed lead vocal -- Children of God finds the band making their own particular great leap forward. The simmering changes that were apparent in the albums just before this one's release fully come to the fore, as Swans take the courage to explore both their huge-sounding, bombastic side and gentle, if often still disturbing, delicacy (due credit especially to Westberg, Kizys, and Parsons, possibly the best musical lineup Swans ever had until the final years). The results are fascinating, ranging from the spare piano melting into ambient feedback of "In My Garden" and the twisted gospel blues of "Our Love Lies" to the acoustic guitar and organ on "You're Not Real, Girl" and the raging pounder "Beautiful Child." Equally importantly, if not more so, Jarboe now assumes a full role with Gira as co-leader of the band; while all lyrics are still Gira's, the two share lead vocal duties (though aside from the title track, no duets) throughout the album. The weary, evocative croon which Gira developed into his major vocal trademark here emerges to full effect (though he can still roar with the best of them at points) while Jarboe's cool, rich tones are simply astounding, as evidenced on an even more compelling version of "Blackmail," originally from the A Screw EP. Though Children is dedicated without any apparent irony to Jesus Christ, Gira's words remain as irreverent, challenging, and obsessed with overarching issues of religion, power, sex, love, and control as before, but with an ever-increasing depth and beauty to match the lusher musical textures. With flute, oboe, and strings adding further texturing to the often quite lovely songs created by the band, Children remains perhaps the key album of Swans' career -- the clear signpost towards their ever-more ambitious albums in the future. - Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

Swans / Feel Good Now
Recorded 1987

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At the time, being the first of the many semi-official bootlegs and live releases that Swans put out over the years, Feel documents the 1987 European tour for Children of God, recorded quite well on a professional walkman by the band's sound engineer. The track list exclusively focuses on Children material, so the album has much of the same general variety as its parent release, though all of the edges are a little rougher. "Blood and Honey," for example, maintains the synth-string arrangements from the album as well as Jarboe's low, haunting vocals, but the louder instrumental breaks have a stronger power here. In the meantime, already overpowering songs like "New Mind" and "Beautiful Child" rage all that much harder in a live arena, with Gira holding little back, if at all. At the same time, a tune like "Trust Me" maintains the newer Gira's commanding-yet-controlled croon amidst the more textured, elegant arrangement, though he definitely starts to let himself go more towards the end. Naming every highlight would take nearly forever, but special mention has to be made of "Children of God," featuring a fantastic call-and-response vocal tradeoff between Jarboe and Gira while the band brilliantly backs them up, and versions of "Sex God Sex" and especially "Blind Love," which make the album versions seem like gentle walks in the park by comparison. Another definite bonus on Feel is the demonstration of Swans' hitherto hard-to-find sense of humor: "Willy in Ravensburg" is a recording of a PA tape of Willie Nelson with drunken audience response, while a number of tracks near the end document a variety of performance goofs and improvisations, including some muffled but amusing audience banter at points. - Ned Raggett, All Music Guide