Marginally associated with the no wave scene at first, their original sound was slow and extremely heavy, with live performances that were often so brutal and physical that in a number of instances certain audience members were made ill, police were called and venues were shut down. This early physical sound is possibly best heard on the live album Public Castration Is A Good idea.
Their initial style shifted a little by the time Swans released seminal twin albums Greed and Holy Money. The music had sped up, at times being even more punishing than their earlier output. Drum machines and samples were slightly more prominent. Michael Gira was joined vocally by Jarboe which gave the band a broader sonic range. Tracks featuring Jarboe were often quieter, even pretty, acting as counterpoint to the more harrowing themes on the albums. Over time, this style would come to dominate Swans' output, although they somehow seem to have been able to make a strummed acoustic guitar seem as brutal as their earlier amped-up assaults. The lush instrumentation of their albums from the late 1980s and the 1990's anticipated the birth of post-rock.
Swans eventually broke up in 1997; Gira went on to release some solo work, later forming the band The Angels Of Light, who continue many of the themes and styles found in (later) Swans. Jarboe releases solo work and frequently works with other bands and artists; recently she released an album with Neurosis, a group clearly heavily influenced by Swans.
The influence of Swans upon the music world is profound. Across their 15 years of existence, the various styles they explored gave birth to grindcore (Napalm Death, Nasum) modern "cinematic" post-rock (Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Mono), and atmospheric sludge metal (Isis, Neurosis).
In January 2010, Michael Gira reactivated Swans and released a new album, My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky on September 2010, and the band simultaneously embarked on a world tour scheduled to last eighteen months. The band had been chosen by Portishead to perform at the ATP I'll Be Your Mirror festivals that they curated in July 2011 at London's Alexandra Palace and in September 2011 in Asbury Park, New Jersey.
On August 28, 2012, Swans released The Seer, a double-album running almost 2 hours in length. Frontman Michael Gira described the album as taking "30 years to make. It's the culmination of every previous Swans album as well as any other music I've ever made, been involved in or imagined. But it's unfinished, like the songs themselves. It's one frame in a reel. The frames blur, blend and will eventually fade." Describing the songwriting process, Gira said, "The songs began on an acoustic guitar, then were fleshed out with (invaluable) help from my friends, then were further tortured and seduced in the studio, and now they await further cannibalism and force-feeding as we prepare to perform some of them live, at which point they'll mutate further, endlessly, or perhaps be discarded for a while."
On May 12, 2014, Swans released their thirteenth LP, To Be Kind. Produced by Michael Gira and recorded by John Congleton. It received positive reception from critics which made the group continue to make more albums that have also have received positive reviews.
It was announced on July 22, 2015, that the band was releasing their fourteenth studio album, titled The Glowing Man. The album was released on June 17, 2016.
After The Glowing Man released, the band took a hiatus lasting nearly a year in 2017 and ending in 2018. The band released their fifteenth studio LP Leaving Meaning the next year. The same year, a documentary about Swans was released titled “Where Does A Body End?”.
In March 2021, Michael Gira released a tracklist of an upcoming Swans album, titled The Beggar. It was released on June 23, 2023.
Identity
Swans Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the cold wind cleans my
Mind
And I'm standing in a ring of fire, and
My haert s made of light
And I fly across the red mountains.
And my hands contain the sky
And earth rolls away in
Lightning,
Killing time, killing time
Now they punish our imagination, and
Corrupt our blood with fear,
And infinity's beneath the ocean, but
Oblivion sits right beside
Me here
So we are blind and we're polluted,
And each breath is drunk with
Tears
We'll drift away across tomorrow,
And we'll ride the breath of
Nothing
Through the yers, killing time,
Killing time.
The lyrics of Swans' song 'Identity' speak to the human experience of seeking purpose and meaning beyond the constraints of society's expectations. The opening lines suggest a spiritual awakening or a deep connection with something larger than oneself. The singer finds solace in the natural world and the elements, represented by the breath of god, cold wind, fire, and lightning. They also feel powerful, able to contain the sky and fly across mountains. The language is poetic, but the message is clear: the singer has transcended their ordinary existence and found a sense of identity and purpose that is unbound by traditional norms.
However, the second half of the song takes a darker turn. The singer acknowledges the ways in which society stifles creativity and breeds fear. They are aware of their own limitations, feeling "blind and polluted" and sensing a looming oblivion. Despite this, they refuse to be defeated or limited by the constraints of the world around them. They continue to dream and look toward the future, even if it means "killing time" until they can break free from the bonds of society.
In all, the song Identity is a powerful exploration of the human experience of searching for meaning and purpose, and the ways in which society can both inspire and stifle that search.
Line by Line Meaning
Now I'm breathing the breath of god,
I am experiencing a powerful and transformative moment where I feel connected to a divine presence.
And the cold wind cleans my Mind
The cool breeze refreshes my thoughts and helps me gain clarity.
And I'm standing in a ring of fire, and My haert s made of light
I feel like I'm surrounded by danger but my heart is filled with hope and positivity.
And I fly across the red mountains.
I feel like I have the ability to accomplish anything, including impossible feats like flying over mountains.
And my hands contain the sky
I feel powerful and in control of my surroundings, like I can hold the entire world in my hands.
And earth rolls away in Darkness, and I ride a piece of Lightning,
I am experiencing a moment of intense energy and excitement where everything else fades away and I am riding the lightning.
Killing time, killing time
I am trying to distract myself from the monotony of life by engaging in exciting or risky behavior to pass the time.
Now they punish our imagination, and Corrupt our blood with fear,
I feel like society tries to constrain our creativity and fills us with anxiety and dread to keep us in line.
And infinity's beneath the ocean, but Oblivion sits right beside Me here
I feel like there is so much potential and possibility in the world, but there is also a sense of emptiness or despair that is never far away.
So we are blind and we're polluted, And each breath is drunk with Tears
I feel like we are all surrounded by sadness and despair that is hard to escape, making it difficult to see the good things in life or breathe easily.
We'll drift away across tomorrow, And we'll ride the breath of Nothing Through the yers, killing time, Killing time.
It feels like time is stretching out endlessly before us, and we are just passing the moments with no real meaning or purpose.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MICHAEL ROLFE GIRA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind