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.
Reeling the Liars In
Swans Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We are reeling the liars in
We are removing their face, collecting their skin
We are reeling the liars in
We are burning them in a pile
We are burning them in a pile
The only true thing, the place to begin
Now the sun will hide beneath the ridge tonight
Clear flames of revenge will lick the black sky
And I, I will sing as you eat their tongues
For I am the saint who will lead them to us
So I'm reeling the liars in
Reeling the liars in
Here is my hand, now drive the nail in
I am reeling the liars in
Here is my tongue, now cut out my sin
We are reeling the liars in
There is only one way, one place to begin
By reeling this liar in
The lyrics to Swans's song Reeling the Liars In are brutal and unforgiving, as they detail a violent act of revenge against those who have lied and deceived in some way. The song begins with the repeated phrase "We are reeling the liars in," which sets the tone for what is to come. The imagery of "removing their face, collecting their skin" is particularly gruesome, suggesting that the liars will be punished by having their identities stripped away from them.
The lyrics also paint a picture of burning the liars in a pile, suggesting that they will be eliminated en masse. The singer of the song seems to take pleasure in this act of revenge, singing "And I, I will sing as you eat their tongues," which further emphasizes the brutality and violence of the act. The song ends with the repeated phrase "We are reeling the liars in," with the addition of the lines "Here is my hand, now drive the nail in / Here is my tongue, now cut out my sin," suggesting that the singer is willing to punish themselves in order to rid the world of liars.
Overall, the lyrics to Reeling the Liars In are a powerful, visceral expression of anger and revenge. The song depicts a scenario in which those who have lied and deceived are punished brutally, and the singer seems to take pleasure in this act of violence. The repeated refrain of "We are reeling the liars in" serves to underscore the idea that liars will ultimately be held accountable for their actions, even if it requires extreme measures to do so.
Line by Line Meaning
Reeling the liars in
We are actively pursuing those who lie by any means necessary
We are reeling the liars in
Our mission is to bring liars to justice
We are removing their face, collecting their skin
We are exposing the liars and taking everything they have left
We are burning them in a pile
We will eliminate these liars completely
The only true thing, the place to begin
Burning the liars is the only way to start
Is to burn up the liar pile
We must set fire to the pile of liars to cleanse the world of their deceit
Now the sun will hide beneath the ridge tonight
Darkness will fall over the world as we carry out our revenge
Clear flames of revenge will lick the black sky
We will take revenge on those who have lied to us
And I, I will sing as you eat their tongues
I will celebrate the downfall of the liars and revel in their punishment
For I am the saint who will lead them to us
I am the one who will guide the process of punishing the liars
Here is my hand, now drive the nail in
I am ready to take action against the liars
Here is my tongue, now cut out my sin
I am willing to sacrifice myself to rid the world of lies
There is only one way, one place to begin
The only way to start fixing the problem of lies is by punishing those who spread them
By reeling this liar in
We will make an example of this liar to warn others not to follow in their footsteps
Contributed by Riley K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Raoul Duke
Am quickly becoming a fan of your work. To Be Kind is awesome!
Jonathan Whitfield
I love you, too, Michael. Thank you for making such interesting and thought-provoking art. I am a big fan of your music as well as your writing, and you are one my very favorite artists. I hope you are doing well during these troubling times.
Warm regards,
Jonathan.
Ciro Astorri
Thank you, Michael, I've been sick in the last period, and I didn't want to listen to much music, but this is so calm it actually makes me feel a bit better.
Lost of love <3
andy murray
That's the best msg I've ever seen left by an artist on their music video. I do have this one physically (hurrah). Though I've listened to a lot of Swans on YT I don't. But I just noticed that cool message.
Damián Vidal Serrano
I like your atmosphere
Felipe La7
I just wanted to know why "No words/No thoughts" is banned in Brazil
JosephK
It's also banned in India too
Adam Webster
Canada too
golevka
Banned in USA too
youtubeuserdan
Too epic.