Swans Albums - Music - Forums : Best Ever Albums

Anti
I Dream of Drone

Age: 28
Location: Somewhere in Ohio

So I just saw the Swans are releasing a new album and it has received praise from the critics. I'm new to this band and I want to listen to them. Should I dive into the new album or could you guys recommend me one of their best? I know I could check their best albums page, but sometimes I don't agree with it, plus they have like 2 hour albums and I don't want to commit to something I probably wouldn't like.
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...and for dessert!

SuedeSwede
Ognoo

Gender: Female
Age: 26
Location: On a cloud

I'm fairly new to the Swans but I'd say The Seer and White Light from the Mouth of Infinity are the easiest to swallow. Don't start with Soundtracks for the Blind, anyway.
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MrFrogger
Where am I

Gender: Male
Age: 28
Location: Oakland

Their 3 reunion albums are much more Post-Rock influenced than anything they've ever done before, specifically the GY!BE influenced crescendocore bears some resemblances. Opinions on them are pretty polarized. As far as pre-reunion swans goes, generally the farther you go back, the harsher and more abrasive it gets, the caveat being Soundtracks For The Blind, which kind of does it's own drone-rock sort of thing. Children of God is generally considered the best from the early era, Soundtracks For The Blind for the later era, and either The Seer or To Be Kind for reunion era.

Hammy

I don't think their latest two releases have been very good personally. Admittedly though I've only heard like half of To Be Kind.

check out: tis in chronological order.

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Filth by Swans

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Children Of God by Swans

White Light From The Mouth Of Infinity by Swans

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Soundtracks For The Blind by Swans

BrandonMiaow

Soundtracks for the Blind is the only one I've ever really gotten into. So, that one! Razz

Helpless Child is wow.

Last edited by BrandonMiaow on 05/12/2014 23:56; edited 1 time in total

yourself

MrFrogger wrote:

Their 3 reunion albums are much more Post-Rock influenced than anything they've ever done before, specifically the GY!BE influenced crescendocore bears some resemblances. Opinions on them are pretty polarized. As far as pre-reunion swans goes, generally the farther you go back, the harsher and more abrasive it gets, the caveat being Soundtracks For The Blind, which kind of does it's own drone-rock sort of thing. Children of God is generally considered the best from the early era, Soundtracks For The Blind for the later era, and either The Seer or To Be Kind for reunion era.

This is a decent overview, except Children of God isn't wholly representative of the early period, too much of a turning point towards acoustic arrangements and a bit less dissonance.

Yourself's swans album rankings (ignoring most live albums and all side projects).

1.Children of God
2.Young God
3.White light from the mouth of Infinity
4.Filth
5.Swans Are Dead
6.My father will guide up a rope to the sky
7.Cop
8.Holy Money
9.soundtracks for the blind
10.The great Annihilator
11.Love of Life
12.To Be Kind
12.The Seer
13.Public Castration is a Good Idea
14.greed
15.The Burning World

MrFrogger
Where am I

Gender: Male
Age: 28
Location: Oakland

yourself wrote:

This is a decent overview, except Children of God isn't wholly representative of the early period, too much of a turning point towards acoustic arrangements and a bit less dissonance.

That's true, but what I was trying to do at the end there was just give what's considered the best from each period, if I tracked their musical shift from album to album it'd be of no use to this thread, really.

So as to answer the original question of where to start, I'd say listen to both The Seer(for a representation of Post-Rock/Cresendo Swans) and an earlier album(Pick one based on your desired level of harshness).

Silver

Children of God has always been my favorite, and I've always thought it to be a pretty good representation of Swans in general. Like Yourself said, it's not quite in the early or late period, but it evokes both the noisey no-wave of their early stuff and the more gothic post-punk of their late period. It doesn't really touch too much on their even more later post-rock tinged work, but can't hit them all. Anyways, after that I would say Soundtracks is best and also a necessary listen. Hearing the more recent stuff is great, but honestly it's hard to find much wrong with their discography. I'd rank their albums like this, ignoring any non-studio albums, even though Young God and Public Castration are great.

1. Children Of God
2. Soundtracks For The Blind
3. Holy Money
4. Filth
5. To Be Kind
6. The Seer
7. The Great Annihilator
8. Cop
9. My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky
10. White Light From The Mouth Of Infinity
11. Greed
12. Love Of Life
13. The Burning World

I'm a bit less ambivalent on their more recent works than Yourself, I do think their modern stuff is among the best they've made, but 80s Swans are definitely my favorite era. Holy Money in particular I think is horribly underrated, it takes everything good about Greed and makes it better in every way with an absolutely fantastic track list.

newbands1

Gender: Male

I had the same dilemma few years ago when The Seer came out and I was new to them.I heard soundtracks first and was blown away after that I went chronological seeing as that album was a culmination of all their work I was interested to hear how they progressed from their early no wave and noise albums,well worth it IMO.

RIHYONCE

The new album's really good, better than The Seer imo