PRESS
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Michael Gira | interview
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Eye Weekly, Toronto | Jason AndersonGira’s music has never been so sophisticated or satisfyingAngels of Light leader Michael Gira has never been know as a writer of life-affirming, heartwarming tunes. In the 15 years Gira fronted New York avant-Rock group Swans, he was more likely to set brooding tales of rage, lust and regret to body-pummeling noise. Slo-core didn't come any slower. On hulking works like Greed and Children of God, as well as the band's literally deafening shows, Gira's bag was transcendence by way of punishment - with Gira and his audience locked in a battle to see who could suffer the most. But there was always a quieter side to his work. Released in 1989, The Burning World was the band's only disc on a major label and the first of several Swans albums to trade brutality for serenity. The covers of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" and Bling Fath's "Can't Find My Way Home" from this era were remarkable for their delicacy. Meanwhile, Gira and Swans singer Jarboe dabbled in torch songs and doomy ballads in the side project World of Skin. When the history of Swans came to an end with a final tour......
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Angels of Light | Preview | live at the Bowery Ballroom
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TIME OUT NY: Issue 324/325 | Jordan N. MamoneMichael Gira certainly hasn't softened his outlook or lost his edge over the past 20 years.Two decades ago, he began strategizing the ultraslow, blast-furnace noise-rock of Swans, whose crushingly physical rhythms and guitar terrorism influenced generations of grindcore, industrial and postpunk warlords. These days, as the leader of the largely acoustic Angels of Light, he channels his energy into quiet, dis- turbing ballads that erupt into huge, sparklingly euphonic crescendos. But despite their superficially vast differences in style, both groups revolve around the same basic obsessions with hypnotic repetition, gut-wrenching emotional impact, sensually sooty lyrics and an attention to detail. For proof, sample Gira's trio of 2001 releases on his own Young God label. The Angels of Light's second album, How I Loved You, strips down and improves upon the silken beauty, grim imagery and orchestral swells of the band's more sedate 1999 debut, New Mother. Whether Gira is reveling in the dreamy narco-bliss of "Evangeline," possessed by the spirit of a raped prisoner in the galloping "My True Body," or indulging his perversions to the percussive thrusts of "New York Girls," he brings increased immediacy to this recent collection of oedipal......
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Angels of Light | Preview | live at the Bowery Ballroom
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TIME OUT NY: Issue 324/325 | Jordan N. MamoneMichael Gira certainly hasn't softened his outlook or lost his edge over the past 20 years.Two decades ago, he began strategizing the ultraslow, blast-furnace noise-rock of Swans, whose crushingly physical rhythms and guitar terrorism influenced generations of grindcore, industrial and postpunk warlords. These days, as the leader of the largely acoustic Angels of Light, he channels his energy into quiet, dis- turbing ballads that erupt into huge, sparklingly euphonic crescendos. But despite their superficially vast differences in style, both groups revolve around the same basic obsessions with hypnotic repetition, gut-wrenching emotional impact, sensually sooty lyrics and an attention to detail. For proof, sample Gira's trio of 2001 releases on his own Young God label. The Angels of Light's second album, How I Loved You, strips down and improves upon the silken beauty, grim imagery and orchestral swells of the band's more sedate 1999 debut, New Mother. Whether Gira is reveling in the dreamy narco-bliss of "Evangeline," possessed by the spirit of a raped prisoner in the galloping "My True Body," or indulging his perversions to the percussive thrusts of "New York Girls," he brings increased immediacy to this recent collection of oedipal......
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M. Gira | Live | Review
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THE PORTLAND MERCURY | JULIANNE SHEPHERDThe cowboy of death - M. Gira's Excuisite GloomI didn't expect a solo M.Gira to leave such a lasting impression. But after his mostly acoustic performance at the Beyond The Pale Festival in San Francisco earlier this year, and despite the presence of such musical divinity as Neurosis, Zoviet:France, and Shellac, it is Gira's image that still burns in my heart and mind. He towered out onto the stage, tall and gauntly chiseled and wearing a huge Stetson. His skin was white too, and his pale hair and eyebrows glimmered under the stage lights. He looked like a giant ghost cowboy. His presence was enormous, his deep baritone voice smooth as chocolate. When drunks at the back of the venue chattered vapidly during Gira's set, he remained composed, and instead of throwing the passive glares that are typical of the frustrated musician, he coolly addressed the yammerers: "Do you have something to say?" He wasn't confrontational about it; he said it with a wry grace, and when he received no response, he shrugged his shoulders and continued playing. Of course, it was M.Gira's music that was most impressive; if he sang about it, he could......
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M. Gira | Live | Review
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THE PORTLAND MERCURY | JULIANNE SHEPHERDThe cowboy of death - M. Gira's Excuisite GloomI didn't expect a solo M.Gira to leave such a lasting impression. But after his mostly acoustic performance at the Beyond The Pale Festival in San Francisco earlier this year, and despite the presence of such musical divinity as Neurosis, Zoviet:France, and Shellac, it is Gira's image that still burns in my heart and mind. He towered out onto the stage, tall and gauntly chiseled and wearing a huge Stetson. His skin was white too, and his pale hair and eyebrows glimmered under the stage lights. He looked like a giant ghost cowboy. His presence was enormous, his deep baritone voice smooth as chocolate. When drunks at the back of the venue chattered vapidly during Gira's set, he remained composed, and instead of throwing the passive glares that are typical of the frustrated musician, he coolly addressed the yammerers: "Do you have something to say?" He wasn't confrontational about it; he said it with a wry grace, and when he received no response, he shrugged his shoulders and continued playing. Of course, it was M.Gira's music that was most impressive; if he sang about it, he could......