Swans | The Glowing Man

[Justthefacts]

1.) Cloud Of Forgetting
2.) Cloud Of Knowing
3.) The World Looks Red/The World Looks Black
4.) People Like Us
5.) Frankie M.
6.) When Will I Return?
7.) The Glowing Man
8.) Finally, Peace

If you're excited and ready to head into this 118 minute affair (then you probably should've by now, honestly) be ready to not get another Seer or To Be Kind. It's a quiet record, compared to those two, embracing a more atmospheric mood and sound and less apocalypse doom end of the world guitar riffs. I'm enjoying it a lot, there's steam still up Michael Gira's ass, and proving to me this is the most natural progression a band came make after making two of the most behemoth records prior. I seriously was hoping this album wouldn't be just another Seer, or To Be Kind. Not saying those albums sound similar to me, they have obvious differences and whatnot, but The Glowing Man might end up being my favorite of the 21st Century lineup of Swans.

[Exo]

Like every other Swans record I've ever listened to, this is going to morph into new things as I listen to it more but as of now I'm very much on the same page as you. It's a lot more subdued as a whole than The Seer and To Be Kind. Total atmosphere album and something I'm really looking forward to seeing live in a month. Honestly, I don't have many words right now but will return here with thoughts as I continue to delve into the crevices of this thing.

[Justthefacts]

How long do Swan concerts go till? I imagine a great Swans concert has to be about 4-5 hours.

[Exo]

Originally Posted by Justthefacts

How long do Swan concerts go till? I imagine a great Swans concert has to be about 4-5 hours.

First time. Okkyung Lee is opening so I'm going to guess Swans plays two and a half hours at least. That's not even the exciting part. That's reserved for the fact that they're playing a small venue in lower Manhattan. The Bowery Ballroom. I might actually die from brute frontal sound force. Check this out...




Like, that's it. I'm going to die in pure dark brooding bliss. My ears will explode from delight and blunt force trauma.

[Justthefacts]

Wow, there's like, 20 people in that room. You bastard. If I have to drive to Austin, or Houston to see them I'm fucking going.

[Exo]

Honestly, I'm just shocked this was allowed to happen.

[Janszoon]

Originally Posted by Exo

First time. Okkyung Lee is opening so I'm going to guess Swans plays two and a half hours at least. That's not even the exciting part. That's reserved for the fact that they're playing a small venue in lower Manhattan. The Bowery Ballroom. I might actually die from brute frontal sound force. Check this out...




Like, that's it. I'm going to die in pure dark brooding bliss. My ears will explode from delight and blunt force trauma.

That's similar to the place I saw them at in Philly—the Trocadero. I think you told me you went to a show there before. They were great—big, big waves of sound.

[Exo]

Originally Posted by Janszoon

That's similar to the place I saw them at in Philly—the Trocadero. I think you told me you went to a show there before. They were great—big, big waves of sound.

Yeah, I saw Sounds of Animals Fighting there. Great venue. We sat up in those comfy bleacher seats in the back.

[Janszoon]

Originally Posted by Exo

Yeah, I saw Sounds of Animals Fighting there. Great venue. We sat up in those comfy bleacher seats in the back.

That's where I sat for Swans.

[Frownland]

When I first heard it, I was not in the right mood for this album, listening to it during the last two hours of a 12 hour work day when I should have thrown on a few grindcore or powerviolence albums. Even when listening to it in the wrong state, it still ranked at like a 3/5 and the only track I disliked at the time was Cloud of Forgetting because I didn't find it busy enough.

I blasted it the next day and loved Cloud of Forgetting on its own and in the context of the album. This one, while a little more understated than their two previous albums, is still just as gripping. Favourite song has to be a tie between Frankie M and The Glowing Man (though my favourite moments were from the violin on Cloud of Unknowing). I'm going to let a few more listens sink in before voting, but right now it's at a 4.5/5.