So I've been really trying to listen to Swans, like really trying.
I have tried the Seer and the glowing man (tracks not albums) and seriously, what is good about them?
Like what musical devices do they actually use that are any good at all?
It's like almost all of it is just atmospheric tension building waiting for the payoff and then the payoff is just them thrashing the same chord over and over again.
I have listened to a lot of different genres, a whole lot of prog and I just cant work out what is supposed to make this band any good at all.
Not trying to be antagonistic, can any swans fans in explain to me what they think is good about this band?
>can any swans fans in explain to me what they think is good about this band? Yeah but not any of the ones on this board.
Their reunion (2010 and onward) material has been absolute garbage.
Levi Brown
If I'm just missing the point then I'd love you to explain it to me mate.
But if you can't even begin to explain anything that makes it good, I have to assume that it's complete shit.
Thomas Lee
>the Seer and the glowing man
neo-Swans isn't even real Swans. Try out their earlier stuff. Give Soundtracks or White Light a try.
Eli Kelly
I'm not a huge fan of ambient music, but I like noise rock so Filth and Public Castration are great IMO.
Kayden Wright
>listening to 10's swans
Landon Torres
First off, listen to To Be Kind, the best out of those 3
And listen to the album ffs
Easton Cox
>10's swans isn't the best swans
Alexander Wood
The Seer/To Be King/Glowing Man are particularly bad and nearly discernible from one another.
My Father Will Guide Me might as well have been another Gira solo album.
Um. Yeah. That is what we are saying. Good job.
Ryan Harris
I don't really know. I'm a big fan, but I'm struggling to find a way to explain it. I thought the same thing as you for a while, but one day I got really high and listened to Bring the Sun, and it all clicked.
Yes, it is all about the buildups of tension and fallout. Not trying to sound pretentious here, but I was in school band for 8 years and never lost the sense of music I got from that. IN those BIG LOUD moments, if you're really listening you can hear the chord progression happening, and THAT is what I love in their centerpiece songs.
My favorite part of The Glowing Man (the whole album) was 7:30 to 11:30. The most vocal guitar part is mostly stagnant, but if you listen to what's behind it, there are moving parts. And for me, THAT is what Swans is about.
Henry Lewis
Listen to: Children of God Soundtracks for the Blind Filth Holy Money
James Bailey
Don't listen to everyone telling you their recent work is shit and to listen to their earlier stuff - those albums are great in their own right, but 10s Swans is a completely different experience and not really anything like anything which came before it.
Shitposting aside, think of it like extremely abrasive ambient music. The rewards come in the subtle changes in the music over time which create atmospheres and textures you can just get lost in. You've got to have real patience (there aren't thousands of things going on like prog), and you've got to let yourself get into the groove.
Not that it's basic musically - some of the rhythm work is deceptively complex, and they often do some really crazy mathy/proggy things in their wall-of-sound moments.
Listen to the first ten minutes of The Seer again, with headphones on and the lights off. If you're really not feeling it, they just might not be for you.
Dylan James
Me again. Try Bring the Sun from To Be Kind, specifically 8 minutes on. Though the "BRING THE SUN!" is constant, guitar and drum parts are constantly moving. Quarter notes, become 8th notes, drums start hitting the toms on the upbeats, it is amazing.
Connor Baker
>Good job. lol don't bother fagtron
Oliver Campbell
>Try Bring the Sun from To Be Kind, specifically 8 minutes on. Though the "BRING THE SUN!" is constant, guitar and drum parts are constantly moving. Quarter notes, become 8th notes, drums start hitting the toms on the upbeats, it is amazing. this. Bring the Sun is easily one of their best
Gabriel Ward
>Holy Money this
Hunter Butler
If you don't like it you don't have to listen to it. Don't listen to it just to fit in.
I think Swans is better when you start from the beginning. Listen to Filth or Cop. Though it seems like Swans just isn't for you.
This is the song that made me fall in love with Swans
Why are there always people in Swans threads who have, weird, random, out of order recommendations? It's either purely random recs that are not good starting points, or overly complicated recs.
IMO the only acceptable starting points for Swans are Filth, Cop or TBK (TBK because out of all of their albums it is the most accessible)
Christian Williams
But he's already heard 2 albums.
Holy money isn't inaccessible. It's pretty straightforward actually, and better than Filth for sure.
Wyatt Perez
Children Of God is a great starting place for early swans, I love early Swans but most people admit that they're a bit of an acquired taste.
Tyler Morris
One 'starting point' shouldn't be more acceptable than another. But The Seer and TBK have gotten more people into the band than all their other albums combined. Just because you now like Filth and Cop doesn't mean that that's where everyone should start. They used to lose most of their crowd in the middle of shows during that era, now they attract thousands who stay for the whole three-hour set.
Hunter Flores
you're right, it isn't
The only good revival Swans album is the Seer imo
Ryan Green
Why are you starting with the longest tracks on the albums? Just listen to The Seer (Album) and see how you feel. You can't go into these long songs with the same expectations you have out of normal length ones, so yes it's part atmospheric and building tension. I really just think it's a terrible idea if you're trying to get into the band to jump at the longest songs and expect to get it straight away. There really is no right way to put it, you just have to acclimate to their style and suddenly things start making more sense, see with the title tracks you mentioned you're expecting sort of a linear progression where something leads to a big payoff, but with this band there are a multitude of these transcendent parts, and sometimes the payoff may simply be getting into the groove of a repetitive riff with many moving parts in the background, the subtlety and minuscule details become a lot more rewarding in repetitive music. Downside is it's hard to relate to this shit at first go, you're really not gonna pick up on it right away but it will be a rewarding experience when these tracks do start to grow on you.
If you want a song of theirs that is long with a more easily discernible payoff listen to "The Apostate" the closer on The Seer.
Other "new" Swans songs I'd recommend for a new comer would be
>Lunacy >Oxygen >A Little God In My Hands >Screen Shot >Avatar >The Seer Returns
Joshua Lee
Try Children of God. That's where I started and I still think it's their best work.
Jaxson Thompson
>TBK because out of all of their albums it is the most accessible
Ehh, what? TBK more accessible than Children of God, White Light, Love of Life, The Great Annihilator? I don't think so.
Joshua Morgan
Listen to pic, it's their only album worth listening to.
Liam Watson
Well if you don't care for their post-rock stuff then did you give their no wave or post-punk stuff a listen? Swans has actually had a pretty storied musical journey, and the later stuff really isn't all that much like the early or middle period save for a couple songs here and there. I'd say Children of God or The Great Annihilator are the best overall starting points.
Christopher Williams
I'd probably drop Swans if I started with TBK. Not gonna lie, it is not a favorite of mine by any means. Seer's way better IMO. And really, aside from a couple of bouncier tunes like A Little God In My Hands or Oxygen the album is nowhere near as accessible as their post-punk material.
Jordan Adams
The problem is that post-punk Swans fucking sucks.
Luis Jackson
To each their own. TGA is my personal favorite but you could hear the roots of their post-rock sound forming on it as well. Always thought it was a bit more dynamic than the albums immediately preceding it for that.
Dominic Cooper
Start with To Be Kind or Filth. I'd recommend TBK. You also kinda chose a bad entry point (The song The Seer), it's pretty inaccessible and doesn't show the band's full potential.
