Artist: Swans
Title: The Beggar
Genre: Experimental Rock / Neo-Folk / Noise
Release Date: 23rd June 2023
Label: Mute / Young God (in the US)
Album Review
I knew many people years ago who loved SWANS but I never vibed with them - finding them a little too abrasive, however when Reflections of Darkness needed the review for their sixteenth studio album, ‘The Beggar,’ I set myself the challenge. SWANS are an experimental Post-Punk / Rock band formed in 1982 by Michael Gira (vocals). The musical style was deliberately reductive, the subject matter of the lyrics were often grim, dealing with the harsh reality of life and death - exploring the darker side of humanity, like their 1994 album: ‘Greed.’ Their style (and line-up) went through several changes as the music incorporated more instruments into its sound. Originally more Experimental Noise, the addition of Jarboe on keyboards in 1986, gave the band more melody. Jarboe also started to feature as the lead on vocals - giving the band a more gospel-like sound. They started including religious symbolism like their fifth album: ‘Children of God’ alternating between bluesy murder-ballads and haunting chants like the charming ‘I’ll Swallow You,’ which is a re-mix of ‘Damn You to Hell’ and ‘I’ll Swallow You’ from the 1987 ‘New Mind’ single. As all good things come to an end, the SWANS parted company in 1997. The band reformed in 2010, albeit without Jarboe.
The opening track is ‘Parasite’ and my initial impression is… this sounds like someone doing a very bad Nick Cave karaoke after thirty pints of beer, I give up half-way through. I decide to listen again a while later. The second play-through does little to improve my opinion. I almost wave a white flag… an album has beaten me, but I don’t give up that easily. I decide to give it one more listen and… something shifts… I begin to hear the melody… I start to really listen to the lyrics. ‘Parasite’ is a haunting ballad and a little disturbing - its raw, grim and lasts for over eight minutes. I definitely would not recommend it for dancing to unless you attending a Satanic Ritual. The next track: ‘Paradise is Mine’ has a simple and somewhat hypnotic vocal melody, underlined by a finger picking guitar sequence that gradually includes more instruments. The result is an effective and ethereal tune that you probably should not listen to whilst driving or operating machinery… especially as it’s over nine minutes long!
The following track: ‘Los Angeles City of Death’ may have a bleak title, but I really enjoyed listening to it. This is probably my favourite on the album - with synchronised harmonies, and an orchestral build-up to a crescendo that crashes like waves on the rocks. Track four - ‘Michael is Done’ is a ballad, sang in harmonies, accompanied by a musical sequence. This eventually leads to quite an etheric but surprisingly uplifting (for SWANS) musical interlude… ending with a very hypnotic choir. The next track, ‘Unforming’, is a slow and spooky ballad. It could be a lullaby for the dispossessed. ‘The Beggar’ is of course, the title track. It opens with a steady beat, atypical of SWANS… a mesmerizing instrumental, with strophic vocal rhythm, each stanza the same as the last, becoming slower and slower towards the climax of the song… all 10.15 minutes of it! Just when you think it has ended, the instrumental kicks in again with a slight change in the guitar riff until it all becomes one noise then boom… it ends. ‘No more of this’ is a change in tempo - allowing a come down from the previous track. It’s actually a beautiful ballad, sang with angelic sounding harmonies - but of course this is SWANS, so typically it could be played at a funeral.
‘Ebbing’ is more folk-like - both the vocals and instrumental. I imagine it being sung in some pagan horror film like The Wicker Man. The next track ‘Why Can’t I Have What I Want Any Time That I Want’ begins with beautiful backing vocals, the whole song reminds me a little of the late LEONARD COHEN. There is a little more vocal range in the verses than many of the others, although the chorus is the same repetitive rhythm that is synonymous with this band. It’s a strong track, nonetheless. The penultimate track ‘Beggar Lover (three),’ starts with a very long ascending note that sounded almost like a siren played on a Scottish bagpipe. The whole ensemble appears to be an experimental Noise Rock opera the pitch of which ebbs and flows. It is forty-five minutes long! I do not have the attention span for that, so I confess that I only manage to listen to the first ten minutes. ‘The Memorious’ is the final song of an album that initially, I wasn't sure I would get all the way to the end of. A trance-like Neo-Folk tune with a pendulum like guitar rhythm. The verse a gritty, nihilistic verse almost spoken, rather than sang.
If I were to sum up SWANS - is it as though the four horseman of the apocalypse have raided a music store and are delivering Songs of Praise. In my 20s, I never got the SWANS music, to me it was just deconstructed noise. I had low expectations that I was going to like this album, but on playing it through, I have a newly found respect for them - although I did think some of the tracks ran on for a little too long. If you like hypnotic, folky laments, and haunting ballads that sound like a murder confession, accompanied by an orchestra that ascends until it is just noise, then you should probably buy this.
Tracklist
01. The Parasite
02. Paradise is Mine
03. Los Angeles: City of Death
04. Michael is Done
05. Unforming
06. The Beggar
07. No More of This
08. Ebbing
09. Why Can’t I Have What I Want Any Time That I Want?
10. The Beggar Lover (three)
11. The Memorious
Line-up
Michael Gira - Lead Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Tape Loops, Keyboards
Kristof Hahn (Also Known As Christoph Hahn) - Guitar, Lap Steel Guitar, Backing Vocals
Christopher Pravdica - Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
Phil Puleo - Drums, Percussion, Dulcimer, Backing Vocals
Larry Mullins - Drums, Mellotron, Percussion, Vibes, Backing Vocals
Dana Schechter - Bass Guitar, Lap Steel Guitar, Keyboards
Website
https://younggodrecords.com/
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 7
Total: 7.5 / 10
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