Swans - The Glowing Man

The Glowing Man is the final Swans studio album in the current reformed incarnation of the band. At first it seems extremely reminiscent of it's predecessor, To Be Kind, due to the package setup (another triple LP on card with minimal art) and the length of the record (although despite it's enormous run time, The Glowing Man is the shortest record the band have released in five years). As with 80s Swans, I've noticed an overall thawing in the menacing, noisy edge of Swans as the records have progressed, but this time, the delivery simply becomes more ethereal and almost peaceful, rather than deliberately less abrasive. Just compare the title track of The Seer to any of the 20+ minuters here, and hopefully you will see what I mean.

I mean, this is Swans, so it's hardly easy listening, but it's like your now being lifted to a higher plane, rather than being dragged there kicking and screaming. "Frankie M" is a stand-out track for me personally, especially the latter half with it's twisting lyrical repetition (I remember it from recent live shows), as is the rather harrowing piece by Gira's wife, "When Will I Return?". The title track, at a fucking glorious 28 minutes, reprises To Be Kind's "Bring The Sun" before culminating in, dare I say it, some sort of almost Kraut rock-style march. These 28 minutes seem to recap to me this entire recent reincarnation of Swans, pulling from all corners of the chaos in one final piece. The closing track that comes after it merely seems to exist as a cool-down period for the listener, and is aptly titled - "Finally, Peace".

Whilst I am extremely sad to see this era of Swans come to an end (I will miss mainly the death stares and gurns of Christoph Hahn) I am very excited to see where Michael Gira will take the project next, and if nothing comes of it, then The Glowing Man serves perfectly as an ending chapter to a long and extremely challenging musical career. 

If you have Spotify, you can stream the whole thing below.