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The Student Playlist Glowing Man Review
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REVIEW: Swans – ‘The Glowing Man’ (Young God / Mute)by Ed Biggshttp://www.thestudentplaylist.com/review-swans-the-glowing-man/ Following the reformation of his legendary, pioneering no-wave/noise rock outfit Swans at the end of the noughties, Michael Gira has overseen the most powerful, emotional and, arguably melodicsequence of albums in the band’s catalogue. Only hinted at in 2010’s returning effort My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky, this monstrously epic iteration of Swans, dealing in songs that more often than not last nearly half an hour at a time, came to full bloom on 2012’s The Seer and 2014’s To Be Kind, which stand as two of the most stunning accomplishments in alternative music of this decade so far.Punishingly epic, physically draining and emotionally cathartic at eight tracks and nearly two hours long, The Glowing Man purports to be the last such album with the line-up that has served him so well over the last six years, featuring two skilled guitarists in Christoph Hahn and Norman Westberg but also twin drummers in the shape of Thor Harris and Phil Puleo. With music as distorted, distended and downright physical as this, there’s little else to compare it to except other Swans albums, or the doom-metal......
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Pelican Magazine Glowing Man Review
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REVIEW: SWANS – THE GLOWING MAN (YOUNG GOD) 9/10http://pelicanmagazine.com.au/2016/06/22/review-swans-glowing-man-young-god/ It’s here, this is it, the grand finale, the last hurrah for Michael Gira and the gang, the swansong of it all (pun intended), and it couldn’t possibly get better than this. Swans have had a pretty eventful career over the years in which Gira was the only consistent member, although Norman Westberg was present for all except one. Beginning in the early 80s producing snarling, mechanical no-wave with albums like Public Castration is a Good Idea (yes that is an actual album title, makes for a good t-shirt), and Filth, the best workout album ever produced. Jarboe joined the band in the later part of the decade and their sound acquired a dimension beyond blind rage and fury with albums like Children of God. Then in 1996 they produced Soundtracks for the Blind – a behemoth of an album assembled from decaying tapes chopped and screwed in a way so as to create something quite unlike that which had been seen before in rock music. They broke up, declared Swans are Dead, then reformed in 2010, and it is in this revival that the we find ourselves now. In recent albums......
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Scene Point Blank Glowing Man Review
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Swans The Glowing Manhttp://www.scenepointblank.com/reviews/swans/glowing-man/ Bands returning after a prolonged hiatus, or re-forming after a break, are rarely able to recapture the essence and/or quality of their earlier existence. When Michael Gira announced the return of Swans it seemed that it would solely be a repeat of the band's earliest style at best. My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky came fourteen years after Soundtracks for The Blind, and it was an album that stood with grace next to historic releases such as White Light From The Mouth of Infinity or Children of God. It was at the time the best one could hope for, a slightly different sound from a beloved band, and a certain drive for something more. However, what followed was beyond anyone's expectations.With their new line-up, featuring previous members of the band, Cristoph Hahn, Norman Westberg and Phil Puleo, alongside new blood in Thor Harris and Christopher Pravdica, Swans reached even further with The Seer. A two-hour long renovation of the Swans identity, documented through the eleven tracks of the album. The past of Swans, their no-wave attitude towards the rock form, their darkwave extensions, the industrial-esque vibe, everything was present. But, paying......
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Kerrang Glowing Man Review
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Vinyl District Glowing Man Review
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Graded on a Curve: Swans, The Glowing Man BY JOSEPH NEFF | JUNE 21, 2016http://www.thevinyldistrict.com/storefront/2016/06/graded-on-a-curve-swans-the-glowing-man/ Swans is a formidable behemoth amongst bands. Swans is also the recording and performance entity of one Michael Gira, and with The Glowing Man he’s effectively closed the door on the latest incarnation of his group. Having recommenced activity back in 2010, the two prior Swans studio albums are sprawling examples of collective massiveness and this latest installment is no different; clocking in just shy of two hours, it’s a sustained and immense thrust of creativity certain to engross and challenge listeners for decades to come. It’s out June 17 through Young God (and Mute in the UK) on triple vinyl, double compact disc, 2CD+DVD, and digital. Like a fair amount of reality, the story of Swans would be unlikely to survive as a fictional construct; chances are great that if made up, Michael Gira’s shape-shifting unit would fall victim to a reduction of size and ambition. Gradually maturing from post-no wave beginnings to serve as a cornerstone of ’80s noise-rock, Gira shed those limitations to reveal unexpected range on a string of more broadly scaled ’90s records. He then dissolved the band and explored......