leaving meaning.

Album review

Between 2010 and 2017, Michael Gira led a mostly stable lineup of Swans who toured and recorded constantly, producing some of the most ambitious work of his monumental career. Surprisingly enough, this era of the group ended up being highly successful, with a Top 40-charting album and near-universal acclaim. Considering how intense and physically demanding the group's music had become, particularly during the years surrounding The Seer and To Be Kind, it was perhaps inevitable that this era of Swans would come to an end, and Gira dissolved the lineup in 2017. From then on, Swans has consisted of a revolving cast of musicians, including previous contributors to Swans and Angels of Light as well as several other guests, friends, and tourmates. Leaving meaning. features an impressive guest list, including composer/master sound designer Ben Frost, lauded Australian improv trio the Necks, Jeremy Barnes and Heather Trost of Balkan-psych fusionists A Hawk and a Hacksaw, and many others. The guest contributions that stand out the most are Anna and Maria von Hausswolff's swooping, ecstatic backing vocals during the ritualistic "Sunfucker" and Baby Dee's ethereal dream narrative during the truly entrancing "The Nub." Other highlights include the flow-of-thoughts march of "Some New Things" and the hopeful, existentialist procession "What Is This?" In sharp contrast to the previous few Swans albums, the pieces here are generally calm and patient, never building up into an earth-shaking crescendo, and never exceeding 12 minutes this time around. The group's music sounds as hypnotic as ever, and the arrangements generally sound fantastic. Coming off of the group's previous iteration, however, there's a significant drop in the energy level, and the album just isn't as exciting. The tracks do an excellent job at establishing a mood, but a lot of them don't particularly go anywhere. Leaving meaning. is a decent album, but ultimately it sounds like a sort of reset or palate cleanser that will hopefully lead up to something greater.
© Paul Simpson /TiVo