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My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky

Swans

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iTunes Review

The Swans’ first album since 1996, My Father combines the strong-armed assault of the early Swans with the calmer sounds of Michael Gira’s later work with Angels of Light. The opening cut, “No Words/ No Thoughts” works off a drone and a robotic, sludge beat for nine-plus minutes. Gira’s creepy vocals finish things off. “Jim” builds on a repetitious trudge with the same notes building in intensity as Gira takes on the role of the hypnotic priest over six long minutes. “My Birth” is nearly conventional rock music by comparison. The rhythms still pound in determination but the melody pops out alongside the guitars and keyboards. “You F*****g People Make Me Sick” isn’t nearly as offensive as its title suggests, but it is an abstract piece of musical sounds banging into one another as Devendra Banhart and Gira’s daughter duet. “Inside Madeline” is a beautifully layered gentle piece with Gira emerging at song’s end. “Eden Prison” is nearly metal with its surging guitar lines and apocalyptic, industrial doomscape. If it says Swans, it’s not for the faint of heart.

Customer Reviews

SWANS ARE NOT DEAD

When I heard the Swans would be reuniting without the brilliant Jarboe, I was extremely disappointed. I did not expect a return to the band's pre-Jarboe no-wave-doom-metal era any more than I expected an avant-rock masterpiece on par with Children of God White Light From The Mouth Of Infinity. And I did not get either. Instead, here is a completely new sound for the Swans--one just as mercilessly nihilistic and graphic as their early work, with the brutal beauty of their later work and the country noir of leader Michael Gira's Angels of Light.

This is exactly what an experimental rock band should be doing--continuing to experiment.

Pair with the live show

So, when this record came out, of course I jumped on it and it reminded me of a cross between Angels of Light and Swans. Still, I liked it. Then, I saw them live in SF and first I have to say it was the greatest live show I've ever seen. Absolutely epic! Gave me a new respect for the record because I was able to to truly appreciate what they were going after in sound. Stellar record, stellar live show and of course stellar band. Gira rules!!!

Swans are dead kinda like smashing pumpkins are....

It's taken me a long while to get to this album, I discovered swans in college and bought Various Failures and basically loved every minute of it. I am a fan of just that period though, I don't like the early stuff, although some of the rhythm's of early Swans predate NIN and other bands. What I loved about Swans are the contrasts that were in the music in the late 80's and early 90's period. The bellow of Gira's voice in bleakness was always brought back with Jarboe's spiritual and ethereal tones or sometimes even the music itself would be the light at the end of the tunnel. A great example of this is the song Miracle of love.
You really could name this incarnation of the band anything but Swans. That band died. and even though he denies it, the coincidence that he named this group Swans too is just too big. He is doing a little marketing there but what the hell.
I find the music on this album boring and even too repetitive for Swans which are one of the greatest bands that can get away with droning for 7 minutes. No new ground is broken musically here. Its droning, the more melodic achievements of his vocal stylings with Angels of light have disappeared on this album. Which is strange becuase allegedly this is a balance of swans sound and that more folked up sound. On top of all that the recording quality is worse than most swans albums and this was made present day. It feels rushed, I like Swans but this album is monochromatic in many ways.

Biography

Formed: 1982 in New York, NY

Genre: Alternative

Years Active: '80s, '90s, '10s

Swans were born during the heyday of New York's no wave reaction to punk rock, on the Lower East Side. Led by brainchild, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Michael Gira, the group was formed after the demise of his first New York outfit, Circus Mort. Swans' first lineup consisted of Gira, guitarist Sue Hanel, and drummer Jonathan Kane. The trio played with kindred spirits Sonic Youth and did some rudimentary recordings that showcased the abrasive, percussively assaultive sonics Swans were later...
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