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generating an otherworldly atmosphere through sound
textures and patterns where their voices and their stark
yet beautiful words could finally be heard. Both were
classic 3am-on-your-own albums – songs which made
the world feel a little less cold.
By comparison, the Swans next album was a positive
riot of colour. The Burning World saw Gira and Jarboe
completely embrace acoustic guitars and even a cover
version of Blind Faith’s ‘Can’t Find My Way Home’.
The fact that it was their own release on a major label
(MCA) caused cries of “sell-out” and Gira has recently
admitted to feeling ambivalent about this period, although
after hearing tracks like ‘God Damn The Sun’
it’s difficult to see how anyone thought Swans were
somehow making a deliberate bid for heavy rotation on
MTV. Now that all rights to the music have reverted to
his ownership, Gira plans to reissue an edited version
of The Burning World along with numerous tracks that
weren’t allowed onto the original album.
But it was from this point that Swans became impossible
to define. Already thrown by their transformation
from sonic terrorists to subversive acoustic tunesmiths,
many people didn’t know what to expect next. Instead
of building a fanbase, Gira had seemingly wilfully destroyed
it with his restless experimentation. Reviewers
continually harked back to their early days in order to
find something about the band they could understand.
Meanwhile, Swans continued to produce masterworks
BUY Swans music online from and
on the same epic scale as Children Of God into the 90s,
refining and redefining their sound each time. Love
Of Life, White Light From The Mouth Of Infinity, The
Great Annihilator – with each album Swans became
more isolated from everybody else, pursuing their own
unique vision. The final Swans album, Soundtracks For
The Blind, almost entirely eschewed song structures in
favour of sprawling ambient montages of voices and
music. Assembled mainly on computer, it’s as if the
technology has finally caught up with the vision of what
Gira and Jarboe wanted to do with the Skin project 10
years ago, generating an atmosphere and a space for
their words rather than being tied into The Song.
It’s easy to see why Gira considers the Swans
moniker an albatross around his neck – during their
15 years of recording, the name Swans seemed to
define nothing except who Swans *were* rather
than what they had become – it’s a virtually useless
term of reference. Seeing as Gira is only interested
in producing what he considers worthwhile – to the
point of physical collapse and financial ruin – using
the same name to try and embrace his wildly differing
output makes little sense anymore. Already he
is at work under a new name The Pleasure Seekers,
which promises an all-acoustic intimacy reminiscent
of Vic Chesnutt, while there is also the Body Lovers
project which will generate CD length ambient
tracks. Hearing Gira discuss his current listening
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