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Originally Posted by guest
again it's not a matter of resenting bandwagoning, but rather that gira has ostensibly divorced himself entirely from the patented brute honesty which so endeared me to swans in favour of presenting something less visceral or actually intense by reducing it to mere caricature, quite likely so as to attain a more sizable audience. so it's not the sound, the sound isn't what I'm bitching about at all, indeed the less song-based elements of their recent work (the karen o shit is a fucking death wish for me) are some of my favourite stuff of theirs, but rather that gira is belying what was once the bedrock of swans, its crux. regardless of the stylistic approach he took with each record they all were characterised by this indefinable, soul purging quality which aligned it with say haino in how fucking uncomfortable it was. .
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While of course as a long time fan you are more then entitled to your opinion, I really don't think its a fair analysis so to say that the past two records are a caricature or earlier Swans simply because its less angry or self-destructive. If anything, what these last two records reflect in my opinion is the band "finding God" and not in any kind of religious or divine sense, rather in the sense of "coming to terms with ones' self." I think the earlier records were an abrasive self-reflection, where as in their more mature age its clear they've mellowed it, indeed, these records really have sounded like coming to terms with ones' own self and life and experiences. In that regard, I've fallen in even more love with them, because at least TO ME they help me cathartic purge my own internal doubt, angst, and frustrations. Its not just the lyrics, its the overall sound, it is a syncretic blend of chaos and noise yet subtly musical. To me, this seems like a reflection of life in general, life is chaotic, upsetting, and noisy but if we can find a calm within ourselves we can navigate the storm, indeed, we can enjoy the view. I think early Swans records reflect a kind of self-destructive abandonment as a way to conquer the natural fears of life, a kind of "fuck the fuck fuck it" approach, whereas these recent records feel like saying "fuck it" to saying "fuck it" and therefore come across both sonically and lyrically as a maturation, progression, and process of growth. That could just me projecting myself onto these records, but honestly, that just how I feel about them and why I've so particularly enjoyed them whereas I just could never get into earlier Swans, even though I love noise and abrasive feedback. Also, I always felt the mid-80s stuff was kind of campy and self-deprecating..
Also, these last two records make Children of God or The Burning World sound kind of soft in comparison, so really, aren't in some respects these records a bit heavier?