swans-what is the best album to try and "get" them?

swans-what is the best album to try and "get" them?

Postby yourenotevil » Mon Sep 23, 2013 9:21 am

i have always thrown these guys in with the neurosis and converge category, i.e. i have listened to several of their albums or even owned a few but i have never seen the appeal to their ravenous fanbase, except for maybe a few songs here or there. i downloaded all of the swans output and have heard various things over the years, but i figured maybe i never heard the right one, or maybe needed to listen to them in a certain order to appreciate them? i like bands that claim to love them and i know they have some fans on here, so i figured i would ask.
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Re: swans-what is the best album to try and "get" them?

Postby isolation73 » Mon Sep 23, 2013 8:20 pm

The Great Annihilator is what opened the door for me. They definitely aren't for everyone though.
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Re: swans-what is the best album to try and "get" them?

Postby drew » Tue Sep 24, 2013 6:46 am

My personal fave is the Live album "Feel Good Now" I think that's a great place to start. Or, get the dbl cd of "Children of God/World of Skin" after that "Cop-Young God/Greed-Holy Money" from then on you will be a fan....
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Re: swans-what is the best album to try and "get" them?

Postby yourenotevil » Tue Sep 24, 2013 7:24 am

isolation73 wrote: They definitely aren't for everyone though.



yeah,i have a feeling i like the bands they influenced, and not the actual band itself, but that happens more often than not.
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Re: swans-what is the best album to try and "get" them?

Postby MXV » Tue Sep 24, 2013 8:25 am

My favorite songs of theirs are on Children of God ("sex god sex" and "new mind"). It's tough to answer your question because of how much they have changed over their career. The early stuff was hard and noisy, then they got more musical and these days they are more droning with adding elements of the path they've taken up to now and their newer albums are some of their strongest.

I'd start with Children of God and then work backwards then forwards. Much of it is on Spotify so if you use that then you can sample a good amount of their stuff for free.
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Re: swans-what is the best album to try and "get" them?

Postby xxxMidgexxx » Wed Sep 25, 2013 6:36 pm

isolation73 wrote:The Great Annihilator is what opened the door for me. They definitely aren't for everyone though.



I beg to differ. Great Annihilator is their worst. UGH!

Buy 'the Raping a Slave' EP.
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Re: swans-what is the best album to try and "get" them?

Postby isolation73 » Wed Sep 25, 2013 10:11 pm

xxxMidgexxx wrote:
isolation73 wrote:The Great Annihilator is what opened the door for me. They definitely aren't for everyone though.



I beg to differ. Great Annihilator is their worst. UGH!

Buy 'the Raping a Slave' EP.


While I agree The Great Annihilator is not the best Swans release, it's in my opinion the most accessible to new listeners. Thus my recommendation.
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Re: swans-what is the best album to try and "get" them?

Postby patient_ot » Thu Sep 26, 2013 3:50 am

I got into the band in the mid-90s, and I'm a big fan. I own most of their albums but have to be in a certain mood to listen to them. They're not the sort of thing I put on as background music while working or doing the dishes. Then again I could say that for some other groups as well.

Anyway, the album that hooked me was Children of God. It's still my favorite and captures them between their noise rock and folk-based phases.

I would say that the best album for you to get them really depends on your taste and what type of music you connect with the most.

If you like noise rocky type stuff, I'd say Filth is the most accessible...much easier to listen to than say Cop or Greed.

If you like really depressing melodic stuff with minimal backing, try World of Skin (which is actually by a side project called Skin).

If you want something that sort of combines those two flavors, get Children of God.

If you like folk/acoustic guitar based music, try Various Failures, or White Light . Another good one in this vein that might hook you is New Mother, by Angels of Light, M.Gira's post-Swans project.

For a more conventional "rock" record, try Great Annihilator.

For drawn out epics bordering on prog rock, you might like Soundtracks for the Blind, though it's never been a big favorite of mine.

The most recent album, the Seer, was quite good but I'm not sure I would recommend it over any of their classic albums. I will say that it has found favor with the young hipster/indie crowd, with many claiming to like it more than any of the group's past work. Take that for what you will.
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Re: swans-what is the best album to try and "get" them?

Postby xxxMidgexxx » Fri Sep 27, 2013 12:39 am

I said this before. Liking a SWANS record depends where you are in life.

If you want uncompromising bone crushing NOISE, go buy the 'Cop' album and then the 'Raping a Slave' 4 song EP. Its PERFECT. Sick. Depressing NYC sludge. that was a HUGE influence on Napalm Death. I love it.

Their final 2 x LP 'Soundtracks for the Blind' is f'n AWESOME. Love it large.

Great Annihilator for me is Gira's TRUE unlistenable record. Johnny Cash meets bad college radio. Terrible.
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