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  • Record Collector leaving meaning. Review

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  • Uncut leaving meaning. Review

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  • The Seahawk leaving meaning. Review

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    https://theseahawk.org/24216/lifestyles/swans-review-a-wonderfully-melancholic-listen/ Swans review: a wonderfully melancholic listen William Becker, Staff WriterOctober 30, 2019 Going through the entire Swans discography is one of the most interesting musical experiences I have ever had, which is somewhat unfortunate, considering the fact that unless you are a die-hard fan of Anthony Fantano (The Needle Drop) or really like experimental music, you have probably never heard of them. Formed in 1982 by lead singer and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira, the band has released 15 full-length albums across a variety of genres. Gira has been the only consistent member, with his deep, crooning vocals being one of the only reoccurring elements. “Swans are majestic, beautiful looking creatures. With really ugly temperaments,” Gira explains, perfectly capturing the entire idea behind the band. To really understand Swans, one has to understand just how much their sound has changed with little mainstream attention. “Helpless Child” from 1996’s “Soundtracks for the Blind” focuses on the painful, melancholic and beautiful elements of the band. Personally, the song is one of the most soul-crushing I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. Their 13th album, “To Be Kind,” is how most modern fans came to discover the band, being one of the......

  • Music OMH leaving meaning. Review

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    https://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/swans-leaving-meaning ALBUM REVIEWS Swans – Leaving Meaning (Mute) UK release date: 25 October 2019 by Sam Shepherd Another new chapter in the enduring career of Swans sees Michael Gira enlist the help of a host of collaborators for the latest incarnation of the band. Having cleared the decks by dispatching the line up that delivered the incredible run of albums that began with 2012’s The Seer and ended with 2016’s The Glowing Man, it’s inevitable that the Leaving Meaning would sound somewhat different to what came before. The result is an album that retains Swans’ expansive and threatening approach, but for the most part sounds much closer to a stripped back M Gira solo project. It doesn’t beat you over the head, or pound you into submission (like Cop, for example), but instead slowly unfurls in a series of hypnotic, almost post-rock inspired, songs that coil themselves around your brain, letting repetition and mood do the work. For those requiring the old style Swans, there’s a slight nod to the past with The Hanging Man, which finds Gira yelping over a relentless repetitious riff and ominous backdrop. Sunfucker inhabits similar territory, starting off as an almost ritualistic chant to surrender yourself on the alter of......

  • Spotlight Report leaving meaning. Review

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    https://spotlightreport.net/music/swans-leaving-meaning-review Swans ‘Leaving Meaning’ Review By  Ladyfingers The announcement of a new Swans album always raises the question: “What’s Michael Gira up to this time?” Even if you’re able to hear the acoustic sketches of the songs he provides on his limited edition fundraising albums, it’s unlikely you’ll have any idea what the finished product will sound like. Leaving Meaning, Swans’ fifteenth album (not including their innumerable EPs, live albums, fundraisers, revised releases and the entire Angels of Light catalogue) is a surprisingly quiet evolution of the drones of The Glowing Man, and a return to an earlier lushness we haven’t heard from Gira in a while. The lushness in question derives from the massive supporting cast of musicians assembled for the project, including The Necks, a host of former Swans members and their companions from their other bands as well as people Gira summoned like Anna and Maria von Hausswolff, Ben Frost, Baby Dee and more besides. Where the preceding trilogy of double albums The Seer, To Be Kind and The Glowing Man ratcheted up tension expertly with the promise that the band was about to explode into noise, Leaving Meaning employs a quieter sort of menace. The droning song structures of those albums remains, but......

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