PRESS
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Swans | Soundtracks for the Blind | Review
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Lumpe Housea disturbing zenith of every good and bad idea the Swans have embraced throughout their long careerAt least 15 torturous years of experience and idea have been distilled into a 2 CD set heavy with delicate melodies and apology, creating a disturbing zenith of every good and bad idea the Swans have embraced throughout their long No New York career. Pieces of conversation, crude and also plaintive vocals by Jarboe, songs more appropriate for World of Skin albums, Gira's poetry, soft instrumental interludes, struggling parts of curiosities culminate in an uncomfortably dramatic display of anguish and relief, a gutted and forsaken attempt at forcing the final fingers down the throats of the Swans as a collective band forever. From this point on it's a long look backwards, which Atavistic is aiding by reissuing a vast back catalog of material, and helping make this legendary band available post mortem. This is one of the most unpleasant yet cathartic and esoteric collections of Swans songs, a final affirmation of the horrors of perpetual internal breakdown coupled with a nihilistic public cry for attention by a band so seeped in a perpetual cycle of sin and salvation it can no longer hold......
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Swans | Soundtracks for the Blind | Review
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Focus 15 | JoAnn GreeneSwans should've called this Soundtracks For The DamnedAfter fifteen years, The Swans are apparently calling it quits, claiming that Soundtracks for the Blind will be their final studio album. However, a tour is planned for the new year; thus, we can expect a live record to follow sometime after. But this double album, clocking in at over 140 minutes, will truly be the band's epitaph. The evocative title doesn't begin to conjure up the correct images for this grand finale at all. More appropriately, The Swans should've called this Soundtracks For The Damned. It's too big to be processed in one sitting, nor two, nor even three—the music is so dense, the songs so varied, the moods so intense, that it'll be well into 1997 before the listener can truly come to grips with this set completely. Being it's The Swans, one's immediately drawn into a melancholy world, shrouded in shadows and awash in contradictory emotions. The music swings between brilliance and hell; there'll be times you'll want to smash the records into a million pieces, other times you'll marvel at the duo's genius. The bulk of the album retains The Swan's darkwaveesque vision of moody......
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Swans | Soundtracks for the Blind | Review
()
Lumpe Housea disturbing zenith of every good and bad idea the Swans have embraced throughout their long careerAt least 15 torturous years of experience and idea have been distilled into a 2 CD set heavy with delicate melodies and apology, creating a disturbing zenith of every good and bad idea the Swans have embraced throughout their long No New York career. Pieces of conversation, crude and also plaintive vocals by Jarboe, songs more appropriate for World of Skin albums, Gira's poetry, soft instrumental interludes, struggling parts of curiosities culminate in an uncomfortably dramatic display of anguish and relief, a gutted and forsaken attempt at forcing the final fingers down the throats of the Swans as a collective band forever. From this point on it's a long look backwards, which Atavistic is aiding by reissuing a vast back catalog of material, and helping make this legendary band available post mortem. This is one of the most unpleasant yet cathartic and esoteric collections of Swans songs, a final affirmation of the horrors of perpetual internal breakdown coupled with a nihilistic public cry for attention by a band so seeped in a perpetual cycle of sin and salvation it can no longer hold......
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Swans | Soundtracks for the Blind | Review
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New York Press | Adam HeimlichWeather VaneLately it's been a little hard to hear music over the sound of my teeth gnashing. The autumnal transition always stresses me out. I've been listening to the new Chavez album, "Ride the Fader" (Matador), to pass the time until the weather stabilizes again. Enjoying it with the kind of furtive admiration that sparks a pre-adolescent crush. Unrequited love. Mostly though, I'm overwhelmed with worry about What Happens Next. I never liked Chavez before. Never distinguished themselves from a lot of other smartrock bands, so far as I'd heard. Critics with rock knowledge more encyclopedic than mine seem to love bands that play with pop melody and structure, referencing the canon from arty or ironic angles. And I've realized that if you listen to too many promo CDs, it's the droll stuff that really stands out. I believe this explains why Guided By Voices got so widely blown, and I thought it explained Chavez too. But suddenly I'm carrying "Ride the Fader" on me wherever I go. It reminds me of the Beatles, who were the first band I got into. "Yellow Submarine" was the album—my uncle gave it to my older brother for......
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Swans | Soundtracks for the Blind | Review
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Focus 15 | JoAnn GreeneSwans should've called this Soundtracks For The DamnedAfter fifteen years, The Swans are apparently calling it quits, claiming that Soundtracks for the Blind will be their final studio album. However, a tour is planned for the new year; thus, we can expect a live record to follow sometime after. But this double album, clocking in at over 140 minutes, will truly be the band's epitaph. The evocative title doesn't begin to conjure up the correct images for this grand finale at all. More appropriately, The Swans should've called this Soundtracks For The Damned. It's too big to be processed in one sitting, nor two, nor even three—the music is so dense, the songs so varied, the moods so intense, that it'll be well into 1997 before the listener can truly come to grips with this set completely. Being it's The Swans, one's immediately drawn into a melancholy world, shrouded in shadows and awash in contradictory emotions. The music swings between brilliance and hell; there'll be times you'll want to smash the records into a million pieces, other times you'll marvel at the duo's genius. The bulk of the album retains The Swan's darkwaveesque vision of moody......