Swans “Glowing Man”
Label: Young God/Mute
Album review by Brett Champion
When a seminal band reforms after a long time apart, several emotions go through a fan’s mind, the chief among these being fear. “Will the album be any good?” “Is this just a blatant cash grab?” “Will the guitarist break a hip on stage?”. And while the excitement and anticipation of a new release from an old favourite tends to keep us distracted and hopeful, the concerns many of us have over a reunited act’s new material still remain.
The problem is that we’ve been disappointed so many times before. Every time a once-great band releases a sub-par comeback album (Think The Stooges’ “The Weirdness”, or the unadulterated disaster that was The Doors of the 21st Century), we die a little inside. Which is why, when Michael Gira announced a new incarnation of legendary No-Wave band Swans, disbanded since 1997, many people were justifiably a bit worried.
This new chapter in the storied career of the Very Alternative Rock icons, since their rebirth in 2010, includes three studio albums, two live albums and an EP, beginning with The Seer in 2012, and concluding with The Glowing Man. The challenge for the new album, then, was not the same as the one faced by The Seer. Fans and critics alike had had their qualms soothed, this new Swans epoch was no mere cash grab or lame-duck reunion. Instead, this album carried the altogether greater pressure of weighty expectation. With the future of the group uncertain, The Glowing Man, the 14th studio album from the group, takes on greater significance, as it signifies the end of an era in the life of this band.
So, does The Glowing Man deliver?
It doesn’t just deliver. It absolutely nails it.
With a run time of almost 2 hours, The Glowing Man is an authoritative artistic and sonic statement, delivering the tension building, atmospheric, dark tones and drones present in so much of Swans’ work, without sounding dated, or like a rehashing of a previous album. The new personnel in the group influence its sound, as has been the case for much of the bands history, and under the leadership of Gira, they’ve produced an effort that not only finds a place within the Swans catalogue, but builds on that legacy.
…a statement, an exploration, a simmering, swirling pool of dark, thematic potential that boils into realised, sustained, climactic moments of tension and release.
This isn’t an album that provides an easy way in for new listeners, nor is it a release geared for singles. The Glowing Man demands a commitment from its listeners, demands to be appreciated as a whole, as a coherent piece of art, rather than deconstructed into some Spotify play list. The album is a statement, an exploration, a simmering, swirling pool of dark, thematic potential that boils into realised, sustained, climactic moments of tension and release. The themes of earlier Swans work are still present, just presented in a different way. Gone is the overt ultra-aggression of Filth or Raping a Slave, to be replaced by a more subtle depiction of the same darkness and anger, the same boundary pushing that inspired their convention-defying explorations of violence and sexuality.
The conclusion to this latest incarnation of the ever evolving group, Swans, The Glowing Man is a strong, conceptual release, that honours the history of the band while continuing to develop and explore the band’s sound.
The Glowing Man is available now though Create/Control and Mute Records.
