Review: Swans- The Glowing Man

Swans are arguably one of the longest running experimental acts with a constantly evolving style and a revolving cast of characters. Anchored around the madness and genius of Michael Gira, Swans has tested its audience from their brutal no wave material of the early to mid '80s, their gothic and neofolk sound of the early '90s, up until their first dissolution around the time of their highly experimental 1996 work, Soundtracks for the Blind. Following Swans return in 2010, they became quite a different beast. While their first record since their reformation showed a lot of the acoustic sounds of Gira's other project, the Angels of Light, 2012's The Seer is where this incarnation of Swans began to show their unique aesthetic; twisted and hypnotic epic length compositions.

The Glowing Man is meant to close out this incarnation of Swans, and complete a trilogy of sorts, beginning with The Seer and followed by 2014's excellent To Be Kind (my favorite album of that year). I say a trilogy because these records share a lot in terms of sonic qualities and lyrical content, though each has its own nature. The Seer was the darkest of all; To Be Kind was the most straight forward and aggressive; and The Glowing Man is the most subtle, hypnotic, and possibly most difficult of the trilogy.

The difficulty lies in the album's density. There's a lot to unpack here, and a lot of subtle incremental builds and instrumental colors that add a lot of nuance to these 20+ minute tracks. Where as To Be Kind had some pretty straightforward songs like 'Oxygen' or 'A Little God in My Hands', these songs are a little bit more imposing, and take some time to really settle in. That's not to say there aren't some tracks that aren't immediately moving, though. The title track's groove is undeniable, the strange strings at the beginning of 'Cloud of Unknowing' were very engaging, and 'When Will I Return?' had me on the verge of tears the first time I heard it. Sung by Michael Gira's wife Jennifer, the track explores her past history of sexual assault, which must have taken a lot of courage to sing and relive in the music, It's really a reflection of the experience and a celebration of her survival, and a super powerful one at that, and definitely a highlight of the record for me.

For those who are listening to this and aren't quite getting into it, my advice would be to give it some time. This isn't an album that grabs you, but an album that you immerse yourself in, and let it take control. It really does put you in a trance at some points. It's ability to hypnotize is pretty astounding. Overall, I think this is a great way for this version of Swans to go out, and though I don't currently think it bests To Be Kind for me (though it may have higher peak moments than that album), I could see it growing on me as I spin it more and more. This is definitely one of those albums that will grow on you. 

Out of a total of five stars, I give this album:

What did you think of The Glowing Man? Did it live up to your expectations? What albums are you currently listening to that you can't get enough of? Check back soon for more reviews.

"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use."

Review: clipping.- Wriggle EP

The first thing I heard from clipping. was their last LP, CLPPNG, and for the most part, I enjoyed it. The instrumentals were very informed by industrial and noise music (The alarm clock beat on 'Wake Up' was just awesome), and rapper Daveed Diggs was a beast on the microphone, with a very rapid fire delivery and wildly erratic flow patterns. However, their lyrical content seemed to be nowhere near as forward thinking as their production. A lot of the lyrics deal with concepts that one might find on any typical mainstream hip hop record (i.e. misogyny, wealth,violence, etc.), but too an almost cartoon-ish degree. I wish they were a little more like Death Grips or other noise hop groups that complement their abrasive soundscapes and beats with equally experimental lyrical content. I've heard whispers that this might be an intentional thing or an attempt at parody of the genre as a whole, but to me, it just seemed like more of the same, and didn't do a lot to comment on it or say why this content may be detrimental to hip hop.

In the break between CLPPNG and this new EP, Daveed Diggs played an instrumental role in the Broadway production of Hamilton of all things, and riding the zeitgeist of that, clipping. recently released a slew of a cappela versions of albums, remixes, and the 24 remix of 'Dream', which is awesome as background music for a nap (Not a joke. Seriously, it's awesome. It compliments Sleep by Max Richter and any number of William Basinski records on my sleep playlist nicely). Still waiting for instrumental versions of those albums to drop (hint, hint.) So, again striking while the iron is hot, clipping. saw fit to release the Wriggle EP, the group's first fully new content in a little bit. Unfortunately, this collection of tracks is the dictionary definition of a mixed bag for me.

The EP begins with a great intro, with Diggs spitting a dizzying set of lyrics at great speed, back only by the sounds of the street at night behind him. This is very reminiscent of the intro on CLPPNG as well, except with a more ambient backdrop. With the bar set nice and high by the first track's stop start flow and rapid fire delivery, the song 'Shooter' sends the six song set into a tailspin it never fully recovers from. Possibly a parody of the sort of hashtag delivery style of rapping that occurred a lot in the late 2000's (again, not really sure how well they show that they're part of the joke), Daveed Diggs launches into a series of punch lines that even the lamest members of YMCMB would find too stupid to put on record ('shooter bout to go nuts: cashew'; 'come up off the lettuce: crouton': 'but that was not to be: Hamlet'....really dude?) Also, the beat is really typical and nothing like you would expect from a noise hop band. I almost expected to hear 'Mustard on da beat hoe' near the beginning.

'Back Up' is a little better, but it suffers from a lot of the same problems that the last album did; a large amount of sexual lyrics that really don't need to be there, not to even mention the silly drugs chant. Diggs and the guest vocalists have decent deliveries, but the lyrics are just more of the same.

'Wriggle' would probably be the best track on the album overall, minus the stupid chorus. Also the sexual lyrics don't come off as offensive or controversial, so much as they come as stupid and unoriginal. This is a post-Lil Wayne/ Too $hort/ 2 Live Crew world, man: we've heard it all before. The same goes for 'Hot F*ck No Love', which is probably my least favorite track on the EP. Where as 'Shooter' was at least funny in how dumb it is, people rapping about urination and rim jobs with audio of what seems to be a prostitute negotiating with a john doesn't interest me in the slightest. The delivery and the beat are not enough to justify such a terrible track. 'Our Time' is just a continuation of the mindless, repetitive, sex crazed lyrics, except with kind of Drake like singing part, which just gives me traumatic Views flashbacks.

I can appreciate that Daveed Diggs is a talented rapper, and the production is interesting for the most part, but I can't get past the lyrics. They're just so one note, and this is hardly coming from a puritanical kind of person. Albums like The Downward Spiral and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx hardly strayed from the sex, drugs and violence schtick, but they did so in a way that was at least engaging, realistic, or to serve some sort of greater purpose. I don't get parody from this set of songs; I get frustrated. With a BDSM gimp on the cover, I might have known what I was getting into, but even that has been done better by groups such as the Velvet Underground, Throbbing Gristle and of course, Swans (look forward to that Glowing Man review btw). This is just not for me. Maybe for those who want a safer, hornier Death Grips or Yeezus with better flows and a spot on the sex offender registry, but not me. When you've got something real to say, get back to me.

Out of a total of five stars, I give this:

Check back in for the aforementioned Swans review, as well as a look at the new Deerhoof record, The Magic.


"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use."

Review: The Kills- Ash & Ice

The Kills have always been one of those bands that I kind of fit into the category of the Black Keys and the White Stripes, but I always preferred them. They never had Jack White's guitar virtuosity or the pop appeal of the Black Keys (though that's really old at this point), but they made up for it with a grittiness and swagger that the others couldn't begin to match. Plus, Allison Mosshart's vocals are always great, and her performances with the Dead Weather are what took me back to the Kills in the first place.

Also, another thing the Kills are capable of that the Black Keys never were would have to be a rewarding sonic evolution. Whereas the Black Keys partnered with Danger Mouse and all the edges were sanded off in favor of vanilla overproduction, the Kills were able to expand their sound and experiment while staying true to their down and dirty garage rock roots, and they do the same here.

One thing you'll definitely notice is the presence of a lot of synths on this thing, which apparently had a lot to do with Jamie Hince's hand injury. After slamming his hand in a car door shortly after the release of the bands' previous effort, Blood Pressures, Hince suffered serious nerve damage, and had to learn how to play the guitar all over again, and as he recuperated, he used synths to fill out his sound. The most surprising part is that these synths fit very well, and the garage rock feel of the Kills gets a kind of grimy club edge. I really enjoyed the way that the band kept their sound, but didn't let it get stale.

Out of a total of five stars, I give this:

What did you think of this record? Are there any records that you're really digging recently? Check back in later for my reviews of Deerhoof's The Magic, The Glowing Man by Swans, and clipping's Wriggle EP

"Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use."