Line #8 Music/Swans


1	[[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Swans_9780.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:330: Swans' 2012 lineup. Michael Gira is in the cowboy hat.]]
3
4	->''"Swans are majestic, beautiful looking creatures. With really ugly temperaments."''
5	-->-- '''Michael Gira'''
6
7	Swans is a [[GenreRoulette rather diverse]] No Wave, NoiseRock, PostPunk, and lately PostRock band from UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity. The band was initially formed in 1982 and ran until 1997 with various lineups, and was reformed in 2010. Throughout its history, leader Michael Gira has been the band's only constant member, although Jarboe, who was with the band from 1984-97, and Norman Westberg, whose tenure spans 1983-95 and 2010-present, are notable for their long tenures.
8
9	The only uniform traits that you could get from their music, if you will, is that the song structures often focus on repetition, instrumentally and/or lyrically, but that they still manage to not get tiresome because of the chaotic nature of their work. This is especially apparent on their earliest work.
10
11	For most of their existence they have been primarily an underground act (although they have finally seen a bit of mainstream success, or at least MainstreamObscurity, with their reunion) and the one song that the public (might) know best would be their cover of Music/JoyDivision's {{signature song}} "Love Will Tear Us Apart." They've also released two other singles, 13 studio albums, 9 live albums, 7 compilation albums, 11 [=EPs=], and have made four music videos, but these aren't exactly well known.
12
13	They got their start with a [[SelfTitledAlbum self-titled EP]] in 1982, followed by their LP debut ''Filth'' in 1983. The latter is known for its harsh {{noise rock}} and {{industrial}} influences. Once Jarboe joined the band, Swans slowly moved away from the brutal aggression of ''Filth'' and the 1984 releases of ''Cop'' and ''Young God'', opting for slightly softer (but just as insane) music, beginning subtly with the 1985 ''Time is Money'' 12", continuing with the "money" albums (''Greed'' and ''Holy Money'', 1986) and culminating with ''Children of God'' in 1987.
14
15	Following ''Children of God'', Gira stated that he was tired of Swans being affiliated with the brutal noise of the first four [=LPs=] and also felt that the audience had expectations that he probably wouldn't fulfill. Beginning with ''The Burning World'' and going on into the '90s, Jarboe began to have an even bigger role in the band and softer elements, including classical instrumentation and, in later years, vibraphone.
16
17	When "Love Will Tear Us Apart" became a surprise hit on US college radio, Creator/{{MCA}}'s sublabel Uni Records offered Swans a record deal. Gira described it as this:
18
19	->''"I've worked so hard all my life. At 15, I was digging ditches in the deserts of UsefulNotes/{{Israel}}, and I put myself through college painting houses. I never saw any money from any of our records. So by the time I finally got that carrot dangled in front of me, it was like, at last I can make a living at what I love to do."''
20
21	They took the offer and released ''The Burning World'' in 1989. Unfortunately, troubles with Uni/MCA led to the band leaving the label and starting their own company, Young God Records. Their first Young God release was 1991's ''White Light from the Mouth of Infinity''.
22
23	Later on down the line came ''Love of Life'', the EP/single ''Love of Life / Amnesia'', and 1995's ''The Great Annihilator'', possibly their most accessible album. Eventually, though, Gira decided to break up the band, citing exhaustion, audience misconceptions, and a desire to start over and work on a smaller scale. They released an epic double-album (one of the most highly regarded albums of their career) ''Soundtracks for the Blind'' and went on a world tour, which were showcased on the live album ''Swans Are Dead'' as a testament to their last years together. Jarboe moved on to a successful solo career, while Gira started a more folk influenced band ''Angels of Light''.
24
25	In January 2010, their Website/MySpace page was changed to display "SWANS ARE NOT DEAD," and Gira released a solo album on Young God, entitled ''I Am Not Insane'', to raise money to record the new Swans album. In September of 2010, this was realized with the release of ''My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky''. Another reunion album, ''The Seer'', followed in August 2012, to virtually universal acclaim. It also expanded their audience substantially. The band's third reunion album, ''To Be Kind'', came in May 2014; like ''The Seer'', it is a double-disc set containing around two hours of music, and like ''The Seer'', it has been highly acclaimed. It also climbed up to number 37 on the the Billboard 200. The absence of Jarboe (although she does make guest appearances on two songs on ''The Seer'') has altered their sound to an arguably less melodic style.
26
27	The band's fourteenth studio album, ''The Glowing Man'', was released on June 17, 2016. Gira followed it up by announcing that the current version of the group is coming to an end, but he will continue to make music under the name Swans, working with a revolving cast of musicians he feels are appropriate for each project.
28
29	You can now vote for your favourite Swans album by heading over to the [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php/Sandbox/BestAlbumSwans Best Album crowner]].
30
31	The current lineup is as follows:
32
33	* Michael Gira - guitar, vocals
34	* Christoph Hahn – guitar
35	* Chris Pravdica – bass guitar
36	* Phil Puleo – drums, percussion, dulcimer
37	* Norman Westberg – guitar
38	* Paul Wallfisch - keyboard
39
40	In 2018, music writer Nick Soulsby published ''Swans: Sacrifice And Transcendence: The Oral History'', which tells the band's story through extensive interviews with Gira, current and former members, and almost everyone who's ever been associated with the group.
41
42	----
43	[[folder: Discography]]
44	!! Discography ('''Full-length albums in bold''', ''[=EPs=], Live Albums and Compilations in italic'')
45	* ''Swans'' (EP, 1982) - Where it all started. Heavily rooted in the no-wave scene, with use of saxophone and relatively less brutality than their other early albums. Still remains an intense listen, though, showing the early stages of the style they would become known for.
46	* '''''Filth ''''' (1983) - The first full-length. Still rooted in no-wave, but takes heavy influence from noise-rock and industrial music, and very well could be considered an UrExample for {{grindcore}}. (For the record, Mick Harris, a drummer for Music/NapalmDeath, was describing the sound of Swans to a friend in 1984 and used the term "grind;" [[TropeNamers therefore, Swans could also be credited for inspiring the term "grindcore."]])
47	* '''''Cop''''' (1984) - Takes the style of ''Filth'' and intensifies it. Utilizes slower tempos, more tape loops, and even more abrasive musical textures. Considered the darkest studio album both lyrically and musically.
48	* ''Young God'' (EP, 1984) - Another contender for the most brutal release, taking the sound of ''Filth'' and ''Cop'' in a more experimental direction. Notably, Music/KurtCobain put it as number 50 in his top 50 albums in his journal.
49	* ''Time Is Money (Bastard)'' (Single, 1986) - Notably the first appearance of Jarboe, who was a member of the band from this release until ''Soundtracks for the Blind'', making her the member to have been in the band the longest after Michael Gira. Marks a turning point in the band's sound, moving away from slow churning noise-rock and into a more minimal industrial sound.
50	* '''''Greed''''' (1986) - Continues to shift away from the brutal noise-rock of the first 3 releases. Certain tracks utilize drum machines. "Fool" uses a grand piano, while "Money is Flesh" uses a synthesizer. Maynard James Keenan of Tool has cited this album as a major influence.
51	* '''''Holy Money''''' (1986) - A sort-of sequel to ''Greed''. It was recorded in the same sessions, so it figures.
52	* ''A Screw'' (EP, 1986) - Sees the band delve the furthest into industrial dance music than they ever have. The title track was the first track they recorded for the Greed/Holy Money sessions, while "Blackmail" was the first track to feature Jarboe on lead vocals.
53	* ''[[IntentionallyAwkwardTitle Public Castration is a Good Idea]]'' (Live, 1986) - The first live album, recorded during the tours for the previous 4 releases. Considered the most brutal Swans release '''period'''. Most tracks have been extended to twice their original length, and made even more abrasive. Quite an accurate reflection of the title though.
54	* '''''Children of God''''' (1987) - Marks an even more drastic change in direction than ''Greed'' and ''Holy Money'', and uses acoustic guitars and more melodic vocals. One of their more accessible releases.
55	* ''[[Music/JoyDivision Love Will Tear Us Apart]]'' (EP, 1988) - Contains a LighterAndSofter CoverVersion of [[Music/JoyDivision Joy Division's]] SignatureSong "Love Will Tear Us Apart", and two [[UnpluggedVersion Unplugged Versions]] of songs from ''Children of God''. Got them noticed by a Universal, who signed them to Uni Records.
56	* ''Feel Good Now'' (Live, 1988, recorded 1987) - The second live album, recorded during the Children of God Tour.
57	* '''''The Burning World''''' (1989) - The first and only studio album released on Uni. While it features more accessible pop melodies, many of the lyrics continue to deal with depression, death, greed and despair, but with some [[TheAntiNihilist rays of hope]] added. Also, Gira begins to ''sing'' on a regular basis, as opposed to chanting or shouting the lyrics; his baritone vocals bring to mind a more urbane Music/JohnnyCash.
58	* ''Anonymous Bodies in an Empty Room'' (Live, 1990, recorded 1988-89) - Live album recorded during the ''Burning World'' tour.
59	* '''''White Light from the Mouth of Infinity''''' (1991) - Their first release on their own record label, Young God, which combined the earlier {{hard rock}} influences and the later pop melodies, mixed with ProgressiveRock influences, making for a rather complex record in comparison to earlier work. Imagine Music/LeonardCohen singing lead on ''Music/InTheCourtOfTheCrimsonKing'', and you'll start to get the idea.
60	* ''Body to Body, Job to Job'' (1991, recorded 1982-85) - Series of recordings made during the pre-''Time Is Money'' period. Some are live, some are studio, and some are tape loops.
61	* '''''Love of Life''''' (1992) - Sort of a companion to ''White Light'', due to similar cover designs and both of them having [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes been in the same situation up until 2015]].
62	* ''Omniscience'' (Live, 1992) - Live album recorded during the 1992 world tour. Now out of print.
63	* ''Kill the Child'' (Live, 1995, recorded 1985-87) - Another brutal live album, this release takes 8 live versions of Children of God tracks and masters them as a single track to recreate the concert experience.
64	* '''''The Great Annihilator''''' (1995) - Described as Gira as a companion to his solo album ''Drainland''. This is definitely Swans at their most accessible, for better or for worse. Also likely the band's only full fledged {{goth}} album.
65	* ''Die Tür ist zu (The Door Is Closed)'' (EP, 1996) - An interesting release. A German exclusive EP, containing a 22 minute composition containing German versions of "The Beautiful Days", "I Love You This Much", and "Helpless Child" from the next album combined to make a single track called "Ligeti's Breath/Hiflos Kind", a radio performance, two live performances, and 2 more German versions of songs from the next album. Sort of a precursor for things to come.
66	* '''''Music/SoundtracksForTheBlind''''' (1996) - Considered to be their magnum opus. It's also very long, clocking in at around 2 hours and 21 minutes spread across 2 [=CDs=]. While it's usually classified as post-rock, it's very much more, containing audio collages, hardcore punk tracks, and even an EDM track. Gira has said that it contains material from Swans' whole career, dating back to '''1981'''. Outside of a live album and two compilations, this was Swans' last studio release until 2010.
67	* ''Swans Are Dead'' (Live, 1998, recorded 1995 and 1997) - Live album recorded during the ''Great Annihilator'' and ''Soundtracks'' Tours. Considered their best live album.
68	* ''Various Failures'' (Compilation, 1999) - Contains material from 1988-1982, from various studio albums and singles.
69	* ''Forever Burned'' (Reissue, 2003) - Reissue of ''The Burning World'' with tracks from ''White Light'', ''Love of Life'', and ''Love Will Tear Us Apart'' as bonus tracks.
70	* '''''My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky''''' (2010) - First album after the reformation, funded by Gira's solo album ''I Am Not Insane''. Sort of a bridge between ''Soundtracks'' and Gira's side project Angels of Light.
71	* ''We Rose from Your Bed with the Sun in Our Head'' (Live, 2012, recorded 2011) - Live album used to fund ''The Seer''. Limited to 1,000 copies.
72	* '''''Music/{{The Seer\|Album}}''''' (2012) - The first album in an informal trilogy of epic full-lengths. Clocking in at 1:59:13, it's one of the band's longest albums and also one of their darkest. Its sound can best be described as a mixture of post-rock, drone, folk, and noise. Collaborators include [[Music/{{Low}} Alan and Mimi Sparhawk]], Karen O, Ben Frost, and Jarboe in her only appearance post-reformation. Met with critical acclaim.
73	* ''Not Here/Not Now'' (Live, 2013) - Live album used to fund ''To Be Kind''. Limited to 1,000 copies.
74	* '''''Music/ToBeKind''''' (2014) - A more heavy, riff-driven post-rock album. Their most commercially successful album to date, peaking at number 37 on the Billboard 200. Notable collaborators include John Congleton, Julia Kent, Little Annie, Al Spx, and Music/StVincent.
75	* ''Oxygen'' (EP, 2014) - An EP containing 4 versions of the song "Oxygen" from ''To Be Kind''. Despite this, it still is considered to be a worthy release.
76	* ''The Gate'' (Live, 2015) - A live album used to fund ''The Glowing Man''. Limited to 1,000 copies. Notably, each copy has a unique cover drawn by the band,
77	* '''''The Glowing Man''''' (2016) - The final installment in the informal trilogy started by ''The Seer''. Features a more meditative, ethereal sound than its immediate predecessor while also making the tracks even longer, with 8 songs adding up to just under 2 hours of music. Gira has described it as "the musical equivalent of ''[[Film/BenHur1959 Ben-Hur]]''". Notable guests include Okkyung Lee and Michael Gira's wife Jennifer.
78	* ''Deliquescence'' (Live, 2017) - Limited edition live album. Notably, it's the longest release by the band to date, at 155 minutes.
79	* '''''What Is This?''''' (2019) - Another fundraiser album. Unlike the the other 2, however, this is a full-length studio album. Mostly acoustic.
80	* '''''Leaving Meaning''''' (2019) - The 15th studio album. Shorter and lighter than its predecessors (at a [[SarcasmMode scant]] 93 minutes), it shows more of a folky, spiritual tone akin to Gira's work with the Angels of Light. Notable guests include Anna and Maria von Hausswolf, Ben Frost, Jennifer Gira, and every member of Australian jazz group The Necks.
81	* '''''Is There Really a Mind?''''' (2022) - Another fundraiser for the next Swans release, comprised of demos of each track by Gira.
82	* '''''The Beggar''''' (2023) - Picks right up where ''Leaving Meaning'' left off, only this time with a scaled-down band and a focus on atmospheric, drone-based compositions, whilst its tracklist marks a return to the lengthy 2 hour format.
83	[[/folder]]
84
85	----
86
87	!! The band exemplifies the following tropes:
88
89	* AlbumTitleDrop: ''The Burning World'' in "Mona Lisa, Mother Earth"
90	--> "''We'll walk a burning world where the sun shines darkness''"
91	* TheAlcoholic: Michael Gira is one (currently in recovery), and wrote "Blind" and "Alcohol the Seed" about it.
92	* AntiLoveSong: "Blackmail" is a particularly subtle and creepy example.
93	* TheAntiNihilist: While often considered rather bleak and hopeless, Gira has actually refuted the notion that they're only about depression and humankind's failings, with many songs that have some measure of hope despite the majority of their lyrics going into considerable detail about how uncaring and obsessive the world ultimately is.
94	* BigApplesauce: They hail from NYC and still look to it as a big part of their identity.
95	* BodyMotifs: Skin and flesh are mentioned a lot throughout their lyrics.
96	* BoleroEffect: They frequently make use of crescendos, especially in their later work. They're probably at least partially responsible for the prevalance of this in PostRock.
97	* CarefulWithThatAxe: On occasion. "Hypogirl" opens with a unique example of this.
98	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Michael Gira often comes across as one.
99	* ClusterFBomb: The last half of "She Loves Us!" from ''To Be Kind''.
100	** "The Apostate" is another good example.
101	* CoverVersion: A handful, notably Music/JoyDivision's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" and Blind Faith's "Can't Find My Way Home."
102	** Gira and Jarboe's side project (The World of) Skin did a few more, such as Julie London's "Cry Me a River" and an [[RearrangeTheSong acoustic version]] of Music/TheStooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog."
103	* CreepyChildrenSinging: Michael Gira's daughter Saoirse sings backing vocals on "You Fucking People Make Me Sick".
104	* CreepyCircusMusic: "I Love You This Much" samples what sounds like carnival music and distorts it in such a way that, when paired with the wailing vocals fading in and out of the background, it sounds like it's coming from the mouth of hell itself.
105	* CreepyMonotone: Whenever Gira does spoken word, it's usually like this.
106	* DarkAndTroubledPast: If the music of Swans give indication, Michael Gira has ''[[{{Understatement}} had a rather difficult and interesting life]]''.
107	* DespairEventHorizon: The narrator of "God Damn the Sun", an [[TheAlcoholic alcoholic]] mourning the death of a friend, seems to have reached it. He's [[DrowningMySorrows drowning his sorrows]] while isolating himself from the outside world.
108	* DroneOfDread: Lots of it on later albums, especially ''Soundtracks for the Blind'' and ''The Seer.''
109	* EagleLand: "God Loves America" is a very bleak Type 2, excoriating it as a nation of empty consumerism and calling UsefulNotes/TheAmericanDream a "dying lie".
110	* EpicRocking: Taken to the extreme on their 2012 tours. "The Seer," in particular, seems to [[SerialEscalation expand exponentially]] with each new incarnation; the latest version, which forms a medley with two other songs, stretches to a remarkable ''hour and a half''. Their 2014 tour has featured the song "Frankie M," which goes on for nearly an hour each performance. The same goes for "The Knot", which was debuted live on their 2016 tour. On both of these tours, the audience was lucky if seven songs appeared over the course of two-and-a-half hours.
111	** Songs in their recorded discography that exhibit this trope include: [[note]] This is far from a complete list and arbitrarily includes only examples over ten minutes. [[/note]]
112	*** ''Public Castration is a Good Idea'': "Money is Flesh" (12:07), "A Hanging" (12:32), and "Another You" (10:16).
113	*** ''Die Tür ist zu'': "Ligeti's Breath / Hilflos Kind" (22:17).
114	*** ''Soundtracks for the Blind'': "Helpless Child" (15:48), "Animus" (10:42), "The Sound" (13:12), and "The Final Sacrifice" (10:28).
115	*** ''Swans Are Dead'': "Feel Happiness" (16:57), "Not Alone" (13:12), "I Crawled" (10:05), "Blood Promise" (15:23), "The Sound" (12:52), and "Helpless Child" (17:52).
116	*** ''The Seer'': "The Seer" (32:14), "A Piece of the Sky" (19:10), and "The Apostate" (23:01).
117	*** ''To Be Kind'': "Just a Little Boy (for Chester Burnett)" (12:40), "Bring the Sun / Toussaint L'Ouverture" (34:05), "She Loves Us!" (17:01), "Kirsten Supine" (10:33), and "Nathalie Neal" (10:15). There is only one song on the album under seven minutes long, and only two under eight (well, okay, "Oxygen" is 7:59).
118	*** ''The Glowing Man'': "Cloud of Forgetting" (12:43), "Cloud of Unknowing" (25:12), "The World Looks Red / The World Looks Black" (14:27), "Frankie M." (20:58), "The Glowing Man" (28:50). The album approaches two hours in length despite containing only eight tracks. Even Michael Gira lampshaded the length of the album in an interview, when he said it was "the musical equivalent of ''[[Film/BenHur1959 Ben-Hur]]'', or Creator/AkiraKurosawa's ''Film/{{Ran}}.''"
119	*** ''Leaving Meaning'' is a notch tamer than its immediate predecessors in this regard, but still contains tracks that push beyond the 10 minute mark: "The Hanging Man" (10:48), "Leaving Meaning" (11:21), "Sunfucker" (10:44), and "The Nub" (12:01).
120	*** ''The Beggar'' only has three out of eleven tracks over the 10 minute mark, but those three take up over ''half'' of the album's runtime: "The Beggar" (10:15), "Ebbing" (11:04), and "The Beggar Lover (Three)" ('''43:51'''). The last track is so long that the vinyl release outright drops it due to space constraints.
121	* EpicInstrumentalOpener: "A Piece of the Sky", "Apostate", "Frankie M", and "Feel Happiness" all have over 10 minutes of music before any actual singing.
122	* EverythingIsAnInstrument: The band's output, especially during the early years, have featured unconventional instruments. For example, "Time Is Money (Bastard)" uses the sound of a nail gun as percussion and live shows regularly used industrial tools and objects to produce noise and percussion.
123	* EvilSoundsDeep: Michael Gira's vocals often sound ''very'' deep and sinister. "The Seer Returns" is a good showcase of this.
124	* ExtremeDoormat: Uncomfortably [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructed]] and even [[ZigzaggingTrope zigzagged]] in their early songs. Special credit to [[MindScrew "You Need Me,"]] which manages this in less than two minutes and five lines.
125	* FakeGuestStar: Bill Rieflin wasn’t officially a member and didn’t tour with them, but he played on every single studio album from ''The Great Annihilator'' to ''The Glowing Man''.
126	* ForDoomTheBellTolls: Used frequently on their later work, particularly prevalent throughout ''The Seer''.
127	* GenreRoulette: They go all over the place in terms of genre with each album. Post-punk, industrial, post-rock, no wave, neofolk, post-hardcore, and other, less classifiable stuff... Yep, they're not exactly a band that feels like staying in one place for long musically.
128	** ''Soundtracks for the Blind'' can basically be described as this band's Music/TheWhiteAlbum. It's two and a half hours long, has over two dozen tracks, and covers genres ranging from industrial, dark ambient, and post-rock to folk, hardcore punk, and even ''dance music''. It also contains lots of both EpicRocking and MinisculeRocking and frequent MoodWhiplash as well.
129	* AGodAmI: "I Am The Sun", which is also a VillainSong.
130	* AGoodNameForARockBand: Gira picked the name "Swans" because, to quote him, "Swans are really beautiful, majestic creatures with ugly temperaments", which was analogous to the kind of sound he wanted for the band.
131	* GreenAesop: "God Loves America" mentions environmental destruction as part of its condemnation of the United States.
132	* HairRaisingHare: On the cover of ''White Light From the Mouth of Infinity''. It seems to be an AliceAllusion as well.
133	* HarshVocals: Gira's vocals on the band's early work consists of gravelly shouting.
134	* HorribleHistoryMetal: "Bring the Sun/Toussaint L'ouverture" is a really bizarre example. It's named after the man responsible for [[UsefulNotes/{{Haiti}} the Haitian Revolution]], and the lyrics consist entirely of Michael Gira [[LargeHam screaming]] revolutionary slogans in French, accompanied by various sound effects like panicked horses galloping.
135	* IAmTheBand: Michael Gira is the principal songwriter and only constant member.
136	* IconicItem: Gira's cowboy hat.
137	* IdiosyncraticCoverArt:
138	** The cover artwork for ''Greed'', ''Time Is Money (Bastard)'', ''Holy Money'', and ''A Screw'' are all variations of the same image of a dollar sign.
139	** The band's releases from the late-1990's to the 2000's (''Soundtracks For The Blind'', ''Swans Are Dead'', ''Die Tür Ist Zu'', and various compilations and rereleases in this era) all have similar album covers featuring circles (with either a solid color or a logo inside) in front of a plain background and banners at the top and bottom with the band's name and album titles.
140	* ILoveTheDead: "Not Alone" is a somewhat ambiguous if intensely disturbing example, also "Killing for Company", which is based on a real life SerialKiller.
141	* IndecipherableLyrics:
142	** "Young God" is primarily slurred with some yelling. You can't make out more than ten words, even with the lyrics in front of your face... Though comprehension is ultimately irrelevant, [[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness given the nature of said lyrics]].
143	** The second half of "The Seer" has a slurry of random gibberish that the official lyrics sheet lists simply as "indecipherable swearing", though it sometimes sounds like Gira is saying "I love you too much".
144	** "Bring the Sun" primarily uses indecipherable mumbling for the first few minutes and then repeated bombastic {{Title Drop}}s for the rest of the song.
145	* IndustrialMetal: Their early works are frequently cited as precursors to this.
146	* IntentionallyAwkwardTitle: They like this trope a lot. ''Public Castration is a Good Idea'', "Raping a Slave", "Kill the Child", "You Fucking People Make Me Sick"...
147	* IntercourseWithYou: "Sealed in Skin" plays this trope for as much discomfort as humanly possible.
148	* IronicNurseryTune: "Red Velvet Wound" is one about a miscarriage.
149	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Gira has a reputation for being one of these, as his [[ThePerfectionist perfectionism]] and total dedication to his art have often led to strained relations with the people around him. However, there's an equal amount of stories of his being kind and polite, and he seems to be calming down somewhat as he ages.
150	* LighterAndSofter: ''The Burning World'', musically if not lyrically. ''Leaving Meaning'' is also this in comparison to the heavy, monolithic triple albums that preceded it.
151	* ListSong: "Some Things We Do".
152	* LoonyFan: "Volcano" seems to be about someone obsessed with a female rock star to the point of wanting to literally cannibalize her.
153	* LoveMakesYouCrazy: The level of mental instability exhibited in the majority of Swans' relationship songs, particularly early in their career, would make many a {{slasher movie}} director envious.
154	* LyricalDissonance: Practically a trademark style in their later years.
155	* MadnessMantra: Many of their lyrics can qualify, but "The Seer" has a particularly good one.
156	--> "''I see it all I see it all I see it all I see it all I see it all I see it all I see it all...''"
157	** "Apostate" has numerous repetitions of the phrases "It's not in my mind/[[MindRape get out of my mind]]" and "On a ladder to God."
158	** "Alcohol the Seed" ends with Gira moaning "I need alcohol" over and over.
159	** "The Glowing Man" gives us "Joseph is making my body fly" and "I am a glowing man I am".
160	* MetalScream: Some of their earlier work had this, such as the song "Young God." It still shows up sometimes in their more recent work; "Bring the Sun / Toussaint L'Ouverture" and "Nathalie Neal" from ''To Be Kind'' both contain some examples near the end.
161	* MindScrew: Most of their music, especially on ''Soundtracks for the Blind.''
162	* MinimalisticCoverArt: Swans often goes for this, especially with the trilogy of ''The Seer'', ''To Be Kind'', and ''The Glowing Man'', each of which features a single image against a blank background (Specifically, a weird creature resembling a fox on ''The Seer'', a crying baby on ''To Be Kind'', and a weird symbol resembling an arm on ''The Glowing Man''). ''Leaving Meaning'' takes it up a notch; the only detail on the cover is the title written in AllLowercaseLetters on a field of dull yellow.
163	* {{Motif}}:
164	** Michael Gira often writes, both in his lyrics and his published fiction, about people consuming, absorbing, and merging with each other, both [[BodyHorror physically]] and mentally.
165	** "Sun", "skin / flesh", and "love" frequently pop up as song titles or comparing people's desires to these things.
166	** "Child" and variations of it shows up ''a lot'' during the band's early days, with songs such as "Helpless Child", "Stupid Child", "My Buried Child", and that's to name a few.
167	* MurderBallad: Many of Jarboe's songs.
168	* NewSoundAlbum: Just about every album.
169	* NightmareFace:
170	** The cover of "Filth", a set of grinning teeth surrounded by rotten gangrening gums and a pitch-black background.
171	** The cover of ''The Seer'', which features a grinning, beady-eyed fox/wolf thing surrounded by darkness.
172	* NoEnding: "Big Strong Boss". And apparently no beginning.
173	** "Raping A Slave" from the ''Young God'' EP also abruptly ends.
174	* NothingIsScarier: Very frequently, especially on their more ambient work.
175	* [[GenreBusting Post-No Wave Baroque Industrial Art Pop]]
176	* ObsessionSong: A pretty big chunk of their discography could count. "Volcano" is especially disturbing in this respect.
177	* OminousMusicBoxTune: "Red Velvet Wound" samples what sounds like one and pairs it with Jarboe's sing song vocals describing a miscarriage.
178	* RapeAsDrama: "When Will I Return?" is based on the actual sexual assault of Michael Gira's wife Jennifer. He wrote the song to help her work through the trauma of the experience, and it's sung almost entirely by her with some backing from Michael.
179	* RearrangeTheSong: Swans has often revisited and reworked songs from their past albums, as well as Gira and Jarboe's solo projects. To name only a few noteworthy examples:
180	** "The World Looks Red/The World Looks Black" is a heavily reworked version of the Music/SonicYouth song "The World Looks Red", which Gira wrote the lyrics to. Quite literally only the lyrics are the same between the two tracks.
181	** ''Swans Are Dead'' contains radical live reworkings of "Blood Promise" and "All Lined Up". "Blood Promise" is greatly expanded from a 4 minute ballad into a 15 minute post-rock crescendo, while "All Lined Up"[[labelnote:*]]Named "I See Them All Lined Up" on this version[[/labelnote]] is turned into a heavy noise rock track.
182	** "Your Property" from ''Cop'' is heavily reworked on ''Soundtracks For The Blind'' as "YRP" from an industrial song sung by Gira to an atmospheric post-rock song sung by Jarboe. On the same album, "Yum-Yab" from Jarboe's solo album ''Sacrificial Cake'', originally a surreal dark wave track, is rerecorded as "Yum-Yab Killers" and performed in a hardcore punk style.
183	** "Amnesia" from ''Love Of Life'' is rerecorded on ''Leaving Meaning'' and rearranged from a post-punk-inspired track to a stripped-back acoustic track.
184	** Several songs by the band, especially in the post-reunion era, began as live rearrangements of prexisting songs that gradually diverged to the point of becoming entirely new songs (as documented in the band's live albums). To name some noteworthy examples, the title track of ''The Seer'' originated from performances of "I Crawled" from ''Young God'' during the 2011-2012 tour, the title track of ''The Glowing Man'' evolved from performances of "Bring the Sun" from ''To Be Kind'', and "Cathedrals of Heaven" from ''Leaving Meaning'' was formed from the live-only song "The Knot", which was itself a rearrangment of "No Words/No Thoughts" from ''My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky''.
185	* ReCut: The vinyl release of ''The Beggar'' omits "The Beggar Lover (Three)" due to space constraints; instead, a download code for a digital edition of the song is packaged with the album. As the track is a whopping [[EpicRocking 44 minutes long]], it would be impossible to fit it onto an LP without making serious compromises. The remaining tracklist is also drastically rearranged to compensate.
186	* RevolvingDoorBand: Their early days had a near-constant flow of departures and inductions. Things have calmed down since then.
187	* {{Sampling}}:
188	** Many songs on ''Soundtracks for the Blind'' sample various field recordings, mainly recorded interviews with people from the case files of Jarboe's father, an FBI agent. Some of the more notable ones:
189	*** "I Was a Prisoner in Your Skull" contains a voicemail from a seemingly unhinged man describing ways in which the listener is "fucked up".
190	*** "The Beautiful Days" samples a phone sex operator talking about her job. Another sample from this same interview shows up in "Minus Something", in which the interviewee describes feeling emotionally drained by their life.
191	*** "How They Suffer" samples interviews with an old man and an old woman. The man talks about slowly going blind as a result of his glaucoma, while the woman describes various symptoms of what seems to be the aftermath of a heart attack.
192	*** "Her Mouth is Filled With Honey" contains a sample of Jarboe's father talking about finding his teenage daughter listening to music in the dark with incense burning, apparently having some sort of drug trip.
193	** ''Love of Life'' also uses this occasionally. "(-) Pt. 3" samples an old man talking about hunting deer, while "Her" contains an interview with a young Jarboe talking about starting a band with some of her friends.
194	* SanitySlippageSong: At least half the songs in their pre-Jarboe catalogue, as well as "The Apostate."
195	* ScareChord: A favorite trick of this band.
196	** The first minute and a half of "The Seer" is a barrage of horns and bagpipes that starts full blast immediately after "The Wolf", an extremely quiet song consisting of sparse acoustic guitar and Gira's ominous singing.
197	** "You Fucking People Make Me Sick" is mostly a creepy acoustic ballad about a SerialKiller, but immediately after the line "Now bring me what is ''mine''" is sung, the song is cut off by a crash of piano keys, pounding drums, and blaring horns.
198	** "I Love You This Much" contains a sharp electronic shrieking noise that cuts in and out of the song unpredictably.
199	* {{Scatting}}: Gira does this a lot on more recent material, and it's apparently how he conceives a lot of the band's lyrics (see WordSaladLyrics below for details). On some songs, such as "Bring the Sun" and "The Seer", the vocals are entirely just MadnessMantra alongside this trope.
200	* SerialKiller: "Young God" and "Killing for Company" are about (and from the perspectives of) ''Ed Gein'' and ''Dennis Nilssen'' respectively.
201	** According to Gira, "You Fucking People Make Me Sick" is sung from the point of view of a sexually obsessive murderer preying on [[{{Hipster}} attractive scene kids]].
202	* ShoutOut: The Chester Burnett to whom "Just a Little Boy" is dedicated to is better known as {{blues}} performer Music/HowlinWolf, who is a major influence on recent Swans albums.
203	** "Kirsten Supine" is inspired by a scene in Creator/LarsVonTrier's ''Film/{{Melancholia}}''.
204	* SillyLoveSongs: Few and far between, though when they do appear, the results are pretty impressive.
205	* SingleStanzaSong: These make up a large chunk of their early work.
206	* SongStyleShift: Frequently with their longest tracks. "A Piece of the Sky" goes from ominous drone, to grim post-rock, to wistful country folk over the span of 19 minutes.
207	* SopranoAndGravel: Jarboe can do this by herself, which is best seen on "I Crawled", where she goes from spoken word, to OneWomanWail, to MetalScream.
208	* SpokenWordInMusic: Strangely averted, as Gira's singing voice is so deep that on some songs you'd think that he's just monologuing the whole thing.
209	** PerishingIndieVoice: Also averted.
210	** PlayedStraight, on "The Most Unfortunate Lie" and "The Seer Returns", as well as several songs on ''Soundtracks for the Blind'' which contain samples of spoken word.
211	* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Anna and Maria von Hausswolf fulfill much the same role on ''Leaving Meaning'' that Jarboe did on past albums.
212	* StalkerWithACrush: "Volcano" and "Not Alone."
213	* StudioChatter: "Jim" starts with someone saying "I'm ready when you guys is" and then Gira responding with "Roll it, Jason".
214	* SurprisinglyGentleSong: "In My Garden" and "Song for a Warrior" come to mind. And then there's ''The Burning World'', a surprisingly gentle album. "Blind" is another example, but the beautiful instrumentation is accompanied by some of Gira's most depressing lyrics.
215	* SurrealHorror: The musical equivalent, especially on ''Soundtracks for the Blind''.
216	* SurvivalMantra: "I'm alive" is sung repeatedly in "When Will I Return", seemingly to invoke this.
217	* TakeThat: "All Lined Up" is a particularly vicious one, as is (The World of) Skin's "You'll Never Forget". "You Fucking People Make Me Sick," despite its title, is more subtle.
218	* TalkativeLoon: The guy sampled on "I Was a Prisoner In Your Skull".
219	* TextlessAlbumCover: All of their post-reformation albums until ''Leaving Meaning''.
220	* ThroughTheEyesOfMadness: Frequently.
221	* TitleDrop: ''Holy Money'' has "A Screw," which (in both versions on the album) contains the repeating line "Holy money, holy love..."
222	* TitleTrack: Played straight on ''Cop'', ''Greed'', ''Children of God'', ''Love of Life'', ''The Great Annihilator'', ''The Seer'', ''To Be Kind'', ''The Glowing Man'', and ''Leaving Meaning''. ''Holy Money'' has a partial example with the song "A Screw (Holy Money)".
223	* VillainSong: Several. "Thug" is an unusual [[SecondPersonNarration second-person]] variation.
224	** "All Lined Up" is a particularly brutal example. "The Seer Returns" and "The Glowing Man" also seem to be examples.
225	* VocalEvolution: On the band's early releases, most noticeably on ''Filth'', Gira's vocals were delivered in a gruff style before gradually shifting into a deep bass-baritone style.
226	* WordSaladLyrics: Many of their songs feature this in some form or another. Michael Gira has stated that he usually comes up with the tune of a song first and shapes the words to fit it, usually {{scatting}} along with the song and dropping words in where they seem appropriate while working it out. This typically results in very strange, disjointed lyrics, especially on the recent albums.
227	** "No Words / No Thoughts" is a borderline example, being based on free association, though certain lines seem to characterise it as a VillainSong of sorts.
228	** "Bring the Sun/Toussaint L'Ouverture" mostly just has Gira screaming "BRING THE SUN" in the first half of the son, alongside vague scatting that kind of sounds like "Bring the sun", and in the second half he just screams out various revolutionary slogans in French over evocative sound effects.
229	* WouldHurtAChild: The narrator of "Beautiful Child".
230	-->''"I love a child\
231	I love a beautiful child\
232	I will hold this child in my arms\
233	And caress his soft head\
234	Listen to him cry\
235	Listen to him cry\
236	I can kill the child\
237	The beautiful child\
238	I will kill the child\
239	The beautiful child..."''
240	* {{Yarling}}: Michael Gira's vocal style has slight shades of this. It's far more noticeable on the post-reformation albums.

Context Music / Swans