To Be Kind (studio album)
by Swans
Swans bestography
To Be Kind is ranked as the best album by Swans.
(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).
Upcoming concerts
Listen to To Be Kind on YouTube
To Be Kind track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 86 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.
To Be Kind rankings
AAL2014
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ForegroundNoiseTo Be Kind collection
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To Be Kind ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 887 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 1 hour ago | AbsurdCheesecake | 325 | 87/100 |
| ! | 12/20/2025 23:17 |  zags7000 | 20,410 | 64/100 |
| ! | 11/30/2025 19:01 | pinkfreud1981 | 637 | 81/100 |
| ! | 11/30/2025 06:53 | Exist-en-ciel | 4,251 | 70/100 |
| ! | 11/20/2025 00:56 |  LukasAntoine00s | 373 | 80/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)
This album is rated in the top 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 81.7/100, a mean average of 80.3/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 81.8/100. The standard deviation for this album is 19.0.
To Be Kind favourites
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To Be Kind comments
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To me this album sounds like getting lost in a huge desert, and slowly going completely crazy and hopeless.
It takes a lot of patience, But I think it's a real masterpiece
doombringer 08/03/2025 12:03 | #310393
Being familiar with Bands like `Einstürzende Neubauten` ; `Throbbing Gristle` or `Socialiastisches Patientenkombinat` i have to admit : I am too dumb for this piece of work ( or music ? ) from `Swans` . I really liked `Soundtracks for the Blind` (1995 ?) but `To be kind` is (to be kind) : Awful !
PS : So much for adding controversy and having a different opinion ...
This group are the masters at creating long, grand and rich compositions that just blow me away every time I listen to them. My one criticism is that you do need to be in the right mood to listen to Swans but when you are there is nothing better than this group. They are just simply sensational and this record might be their peak. Instrumentally, it is diverse and full of depth with there being so much for us to explore and get stuck into. The guitars are brilliant and make up the core of this release with there being some outstanding performances on a whole range of guitar types. This is backed by what is possibly my favourite part of the record which is the percussion as it is stunning and feels so unique to this group. Then we have the countless other performances and instruments scattered amongst the release which all put on a stellar show and combine to form this colossal record which feels like a monumental experience. This is one of the things I love so much about Swans and that is that their music and albums feel like they transcend music and become something else entirely. They are just so large in scale and ambition that it is tough to even compare them with other artists. Overall, this is a 2 hour demonstration of the experimentation and musical mastery of the group called Swans and it deserves all the praise that it receives.
thirstyDog 07/31/2022 03:10 | #287977
A Little God In My Hands is fucking nuts.
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VictorVale 11/25/2021 13:45 | #276679
Desconstrução, reconstrução, ecos e marteladas desse processo musical! Incrível!
Oxygen is just one of the best songs of all time!
teague 09/04/2021 17:44 | #273299
The deconstruction of rock. I really need to meditate on this to appreciate it fully.
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Timestarter 06/29/2020 14:36 | #254738
Fav. Tracks:
- Screen Shot
- Bring The Sun / Toussaint L'Ouverture
- Oxygen
- To Be Kind
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