Swans / To Be Kind
| Album: | To Be Kind | Collection: | General | |
| Artist: | Swans | Added: | May 2014 | |
| Label: | Young God Records | |||
A-File Activity
| Add Date: | 2014-05-09 | Pull Date: | 2014-07-11 |
|---|
| Week Ending: | Jul 13 | Jul 6 | Jun 29 | Jun 22 | Jun 15 | Jun 8 | Jun 1 | May 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airplays: | 2 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 4 |
Recent Airplay
| 1. | Feb 28, 2022: | Funhouse
A Little God In My Hands |
4. | Jul 20, 2019: | on the warpath
Bring The Sun/Toussaint L'ouverture |
|
| 2. | Feb 05, 2022: | trainin
Screen Shot |
5. | May 25, 2017: | Sound and Solidarity
Nathalie Neal |
|
| 3. | Oct 07, 2021: | Training Lunch
Screen Shot |
6. | Aug 24, 2016: | a strange pursuit
A Little God In My Hands |
Album Review
DJ Muscat
Reviewed 2014-05-08
Reviewed 2014-05-08
Genre: the earth's core, lawrence of arabia, nietzsche's übermensch
This isn't an album. I don't know what they've told you, but it isn't. "To Be Kind" gnashes up newspaper headers that pair together the words 'art' and 'leisure' and opens up a world of its own. It renders adjectives and five star rating scales useless. Let this record consume you. Let it pull you into its immense gravity. Breathe. Listen. This isn't an album. This is Swans.
Others: If only.
Favorites: All. FCCs: 1- 5, 2-1
Disc 1
1. (8:05) Begins as bare jerky bass groove but slowly builds in intensity. Phenomenal, hypnotic opening track. Noisy last ~2 minutes.
2. (12:40) Atmospheric, folk influenced intro with minimalist drumming. Gira's vocals sit back in the mix. Relatively subdued for first 5 minutes before wonderfully sinister laughter comes in and Gira's voice becomes progressively more warped. Shifts back and forth between this ominous vibe and noisier outbursts.
3. (7:08) Swaggering, almost funk feel yet instantly marked by noisy escalations and Gira's bloody-mouthed vocals. Background female vox.
4. (34:05) Immediate massive Swans mayhem then drone then plodding post-rock dirge then huge group vocals that build into a glorious climax. 16:00-19:00 sample of sawing wood and other found sounds. Transitions into more structured rock song over which Gira yells "Toussaint L'Ouverture!" and "Liberté, égalité, fraternité". Noisy finale.
5. (5:09) FCC "fuck" (obscene). Beautiful string plucks accompanied by Gira's voice.
Disc 2
1. (17:01) FCC "fuck" Phenomenal drumming and deranged guitar riff. Group chanting. Noisy middle third then emerges as a fantastic rock groove. Amazing song, but unfortunately repeatedly barks "fuck". Not obscene though, so probably alright for safe harbor.
2. (10:33) Ambient intro. Gira in a low speak-sing with backing female vox. Really moving and beautiful. Midway through bass and drums enter. Steadily builds into a wordless, screeching finish. Jaw-dropping.
3. (7:59) OH YES. Swans at their most immediate. Dirty bluesy riff and one of Gira's most all consuming vocal performances. I can't get enough.
4. (10:15) Swirling voices and whirring textures. French accented woman's voice sample of dance instruction it sounds like. ~3:50 bursts into tremendous rock song. Last ~1:00 quiet folk.
5. (8:23) Gentle guitar, piano, Gira's voice, and ambient backdrop. Twisted lullaby quality. Midway through gains volume and intensity. Pummeling finish to a monstrous album.
This isn't an album. I don't know what they've told you, but it isn't. "To Be Kind" gnashes up newspaper headers that pair together the words 'art' and 'leisure' and opens up a world of its own. It renders adjectives and five star rating scales useless. Let this record consume you. Let it pull you into its immense gravity. Breathe. Listen. This isn't an album. This is Swans.
Others: If only.
Favorites: All. FCCs: 1- 5, 2-1
Disc 1
1. (8:05) Begins as bare jerky bass groove but slowly builds in intensity. Phenomenal, hypnotic opening track. Noisy last ~2 minutes.
2. (12:40) Atmospheric, folk influenced intro with minimalist drumming. Gira's vocals sit back in the mix. Relatively subdued for first 5 minutes before wonderfully sinister laughter comes in and Gira's voice becomes progressively more warped. Shifts back and forth between this ominous vibe and noisier outbursts.
3. (7:08) Swaggering, almost funk feel yet instantly marked by noisy escalations and Gira's bloody-mouthed vocals. Background female vox.
4. (34:05) Immediate massive Swans mayhem then drone then plodding post-rock dirge then huge group vocals that build into a glorious climax. 16:00-19:00 sample of sawing wood and other found sounds. Transitions into more structured rock song over which Gira yells "Toussaint L'Ouverture!" and "Liberté, égalité, fraternité". Noisy finale.
5. (5:09) FCC "fuck" (obscene). Beautiful string plucks accompanied by Gira's voice.
Disc 2
1. (17:01) FCC "fuck" Phenomenal drumming and deranged guitar riff. Group chanting. Noisy middle third then emerges as a fantastic rock groove. Amazing song, but unfortunately repeatedly barks "fuck". Not obscene though, so probably alright for safe harbor.
2. (10:33) Ambient intro. Gira in a low speak-sing with backing female vox. Really moving and beautiful. Midway through bass and drums enter. Steadily builds into a wordless, screeching finish. Jaw-dropping.
3. (7:59) OH YES. Swans at their most immediate. Dirty bluesy riff and one of Gira's most all consuming vocal performances. I can't get enough.
4. (10:15) Swirling voices and whirring textures. French accented woman's voice sample of dance instruction it sounds like. ~3:50 bursts into tremendous rock song. Last ~1:00 quiet folk.
5. (8:23) Gentle guitar, piano, Gira's voice, and ambient backdrop. Twisted lullaby quality. Midway through gains volume and intensity. Pummeling finish to a monstrous album.
Track Listing