Swans - Birthing
Young God
Birthing is Swans' seventeenth studio album, and their seventh since the bands return in 2010. You could call it the second coming of Swans, their "later life" period, the second side of a two-halved calling. Birthing is made up of 7 tracks which last a total of 1-hour-and-55-minutes; yet another sonic epic from Swans.
Birthing: bringing something into being; giving breath to something that was once not. Birthing opens with "The Healers". As someone who has spent enough time in the world of Swans has come to expect, it can take a while for the rubber to hit the road.
"She fell from Heaven, but I caught her."
"I break your bones to feed our daughter."
The 8-minute mark sees Gira's prophesising give way to a snaking groove - the bass meanders, the drums hold a tightknit, locked-in essence, emotionally burdened guitars squeal and rapaciously whine. A storm is brewing.
"The wolves are swimming in our harbour.
Our lungs are breathing in black water.
The heavens rain down knives of silver.
To kiss our bodies in the river."
The groove becomes meaner, more agitated and ill-intentioned as it moves along. A mind on the edge. Seeking stimulation; seeking entry into the world.
"I Am a Tower": the lead single. The water-warmer for the albums due existence.
"I alone will fix it." An all-encompassing entity. A perennial power. An army of one. An army of me. The eye which sees all. The hand which holds all.
"Searching for truths in the fatfolds of your blunder".
Flicking through your wrongs like an archaeologist. Uncovering your being one layer at a time. Dusting you down and putting you on display. Gathering souls. Hear ye, hear ye.
The title track begins by spinning webs of lunacy. The wheelhouse of the madman. Lost in his own head. Where it all began. The source. The inescapable tide; the current that claws you under. Conception: the ripple which throws forth. Vapour rising.
"I saw you beneath the sea; behind the air; above the sky. "
"Red Yellow" takes on a more immediate approach compared to the first three tracks on the album; at just under 7-minutes in length, it is also the shortest on Birthing. Gira's breath-y vocals add an eerie air. A snappy set of drums shake up the mould. Gira returns with gusto; chest out. The track nicely breaks up the longer, more drawn-out half of Birthing and gives way to the less long, but still unconventionally, though conventionally lengthy in Swans' world, long, second half.
Said second half begins with "Guardian Spirit".
"The deeper you breathe, the deeper I creep." The further you flee, the closer I'll be. "Your prayer is my curse". Be careful what you wish for. The path to hell is paved with good intentions. A trudging, no-rush-to-be-anywhere-or-anyone essence is sat within.
"The Merge". Insanity. "I love you Mommyy." Winding, woozing synth/bass lines. Around-the-rim, sizzling drums, like a hot pan full of popcorn kernels. Fireworks and whistles through the ether. Wriggly synths spill out. Eins, zwei, drei. Consuming death-fog.
"(Rope) Away". A sweeping, spiritually uplifting piece. Ascending up and out.
"Where has Alice gone?
Where has William gone?
Where has poor Catherine gone?
Where has Simon gone?
To someplace inside, or some place far beyond.
Where have we all gone?
Where have they all gone?
We are gone."
A farewell to the gruelling state, as stated by figurehead Michael Gira, Birthing, Swans' seventeenth studio album, is set to be the last in the all-consuming sound worlds of Swans. Slow to build, and slow to break, Birthing is just under two hours of Swans' often meditative and often animalistic material - the two intertwine and go hand-in-hand in the hands of Gira and co.
Swans Bandcamp reads with regards to the future of Swans:
"This album, coupled with the recent live release, Live Rope, constitutes my final foray (as producer / impresario) into the all-consuming sound worlds that have been my obsession for years. We’ll do a final tour in this mode towards the end of 2025, then that’s it.
After that, Swans will continue, so long as I’m able, but in a significantly pared down form. Hints of that direction can be found in a few moments on the current album. In the meantime, my hope is that the music provides a positive and fertile atmosphere in which to dream.”
Will it end, does it end? Birthing is out now via Young God and Mute Records.
