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Swans, "My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky"
When I first heard the rumors of a possible Swans resurrection, I wasn't quite sure what to think. I never thought for a second that they'd follow the path of other lesser bands that put out an album of re-recorded "hits" and toured state fairs, but I did think there was a chance it could result in a rebranded Angels of Light disc or a Michael Gira solo album. However, neither of those happened, and instead there is a new Swans album worthy of their legacy, and hopefully the first of many.
 
Another concern I had about this album was more of a personal one.My first actual exposure to the band was after their dissolution, so I wasn't "there" for the release of new material, it was all historical to me.Considering my first actual experience was Cop/Young God/Greed/Holy Money, and my second was Various Failures, I was quickly exposed to the two extremes in their sound.But, I never had to "accept" an album as a new Swans album until now.
So I started the disc with some trepidation, not knowing how exactly I was going to feel about "new" Swans material.It took less than a minute into "No Words/No Thoughts" before I knew I had nothing to worry about, thanks to founding member Norman Westerberg’s repetitive, but crushing guitar, layers of noise and drone.About half-way through, Gira's vocals appear, still carrying a certain southern drawl he began cultivating with Angels of Light, but the intensity of the song is pure Swans.
As I hoped, My Father sounds as massive and "heavy" as any prior album, but it feels like an entirely new entity.While I hear traces of older albums and songs amongst the eight tracks, never does it feel like an attempt to duplicate previous work, just influence of it arising in new material."Eden Prison" has a loping repetitive inertia to it that feels in league with the earliest work, but entirely singular and contemporary.Same with "My Birth," which pounds away like the Swans of old, but with a much stronger sense of melody and songwriting.
A few of the songs retain that southern folk influence that Gira developed with Angels of Light, such as sparse "Reeling The Liars In," replete with tales of skinning and burning bodies.The final section of "Inside Madeline" sounds like it could actually be an outtake from one of the Angels albums, but with a thrashing, aggressive instrumental opening that constitutes about two-thirds of the song.The focus on acoustic guitar and backing harmonies in "Little Mouth" results in a sort of country/blues hybrid that is all its own, however.
"You Fucking People Make Me Sick" has probably received the most attention on this album prior to its release, featuring Devendra Banhart and Gira's three year old daughter in a vocal duet.Banhart's sound and style never appealed to me much at all, but the relatively light arrangement and his perverse fairy tale vocals work well together to create a truly creepy atmosphere, which is just magnified by the two minute piano/drum outro, with some extremely dark horn drones to close everything out.
The deluxe edition of this album contains a bonus disc consisting of a single 46 minute track, "Look At Me Go," that was built from instrumental segments and pieces of the final album.In that regard it is reminiscent of the material from the latter Swans albums such as Soundtracks for the Blind, but again is its own beast.The harsh, more abrasive moments of the album are drawn out even longer, resulting in something that is part "megamix"/part sound collage/part unique composition.While the primary "album" consists of songs in the traditional sense, this extra material is a pure exploration of sound that ranks with the best of the band’s experimental moments from the past.Played loudly (as I’m sure it was intended), it is a beautifully visceral experience.
I think most people will be as thrilled with the fact that Gira has decided to revive his old band as I am. My Father had a lot of expectations to live up to, and it surpassed them easily.Considering this isn’t just a one-off project, I can only imagine how the next album will turn out, especially once the band has a new tour under its belt and begins writing new material.
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