Swans - Filth/Body to Body, Job to Job
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Free Music Notes for Filth/Body to Body, Job to Job
Free Music Review: Be Strong. Be Hard. Be Angry.
Hit: 3 Stars
Most people, I think, would find unfathomable the very notion of releasing a collection of music as impossibly dour, humorless and grating as Filth. Hopefully New York's Swans have little interest in achieving popularity on the Top 50 charts, because nothing from this album could ever be accepted as 'good music' by your average Joe-FM Jockey. And who can blame him? The entire album seems like some kind of mean spirited drunken mess.
The first (and most accessible) track of Filth lumbers along with a bass-line like an inebriated dance beat, swaying off kilter in slow motion; while a singer who obviously is some kind of bull-horned hairy man-beast brutishly barks things like, "Be Strong! Be Hard!" over and over again until one gets the impression that the insecure creature fears it is neither. After the first track falls awkwardly on the coffee table and blacks out, things start to get really out of control. The band seems to abhor rhythm only slightly less than it does melody, because both are rather scarce in this misanthropic recording. Songs either stomp around angrily, like some kind of red-faced troglodyte, ranting or lamenting one thing or another, or, as with "Freak," devolve completely into primordial soupiness, a cacophony which envisions musicians not playing instruments so much as simply punching them. It's a pretty unusual style: Gothic metal which is neither Gothic (no fay romanticism to leaven the depressive qualities, and too unmelodious) nor metal (too repetitive and arrhythmical). Filth ends with a hazy sounding set of concert recordings, which pummel the ears even harder without the clarity of the studio recording humanizing the proceeding.
"Filth: the cd" also offers a sequel disc. Body to Body, Job to Job is a compilation, not a proper album, of tracks recorded before and after Filth was officially released. The sound is a continuation of Filth's fury however and offers no relief from the blunt-force trauma headphone users doubtlessly suffered while listening to the first disc. Some are rough, live cuts of dubious engineering quality, and others are clear studio recordings of dubious moral motivation. Songs like "I'll Cry for You" and "Mother, My Body Disgusts Me" are every bit as demented as on the main album, and good for scaring little old ladies.
It's all rather Lo-fi, and while certainly aggressive (an album that would probably rough you up in a back alley just for the hell of it) the production seems to tone down the ferocious bellowing of the singer, burying in deep rumbling noise. The effect is rather like Martin Hannett's production for the band Joy Division. In fact, technically and thematically the music here is strongly reminiscent of Joy Division. Just a hell of a lot meaner.
I honestly can't imagine anyone calling this their absolute all-time favorite album, but frankly, for all of it's rejection of musical standards, there is something strongly compelling about Filth by Swans. Most people will be put off and annoyed by it, but as Amazon.com shows, a number of people also think it's pretty great. So maybe these Swans characters are on to something. Despite the fact that he still has his pretty little pop-icons, catchy songs, his teeth and his sanity, maybe Joe-FM Jockey is the one who is missing out. I for one am am going to dab my bleeding ears while looking forward to what the band releases next!
Free Music Review: 'Flex Your Muscles'
Hit: 5 Stars
Swans could only have come from New York, no other city other than Berlin could have produced such a glorious cacophony of unrelenting brutality. For me Swans rests somewhere between real industrial (not 90s industrial metal) and noise-rock. Their only peers would have been Glenn Branca, The Butthole Surfers, early Sonic Youth (who were more song based) and Einsturzende Neubauten. On `Filth' they use repetition to exhilarating effect slowing everything down to a virtual crawl. It's difficult to describe this album but know one thing: nothing produced before or after it can match it in the brutality stakes. Like a wrecking ball it demolishes your weak mind while never overstaying it's welcome. This release also includes plenty live material as a bonus, which is where one can really feel the power and beauty in their destruction. `Filth' is as the title would suggest an ugly beast of an album that will beat you and leave you paralysed on floor simply because it can. This release in particular is one of my favourite albums of all time and life without it would be incomplete. Strong medicine indeed and highly recommended. Swans were in my opinion one of the greatest bands ever.Free Music Review: This record has so many number one dance hits from back in the day on it...
Hit: 5 Stars
No, seriously, what's there not to love about Swans? Personally, I cannot get enough of them whether it's the early days or the later days. This is the album that started it all and it left behind a reputation that will make Swans infamous for decades yet to come. This music is simply HEAVY, and I mean it "that" way. Forget these slow doom metal and drone bands; Swans will engulf you, beat you, drag your bloody pulp of a body against the floor, and rape your rotting carcass. If that is your kind of thing, then obviously this album is a winner. There are no conventional rock structures here, but don't let that fool you... this is rock in its most pure and shocking form. It's a real pity that Michael Gira never hit the charts with any of these songs because, really, these songs are just totally danceable. If I was throwing a party I would definitely throw some Swans on... Not necessarily to freak everyone out, but to get everyone moshing. Of course, you should know that Michael Gira hates that kind of behavior. In actuality, he would rather have you brooding around your crummy apartment drunk while listening to this record. But, who can blame him? This music is true art. There are no compromises; it's punk rock in essence. It has the old school do-it-yourself mentality that you simply cannot find in the shallow and vapid bands that come out nowadays.
Swans are simply for people who want challenging, yet rewarding music.
Free Music Review: Must listen
Hit: 5 Stars
Angry, dark, brooding, sludgy, this is the equivalent of a heavy duty sledge hammer crushing it's mass on the head of the mainstream.Free Music Review: Sewage!
Hit: 5 Stars
SWANS sound like they've just climbed out of the sewer and haven't washed up yet. This analogy works especially well when discussing their very early work, namely "Filth." The first words that will come to mind will probably include "heavy," "sludgy," "ugly," and quite possibly "filth." If you're an adventurous listener, and tolerant of an oppressive, miserable, hellish atmosphere, and believe that noise and screaming can be musical, your words might also include "very cool."
"Filth" is really not that unlistenable. The grating noise and dissonance will be off-putting to many, but when it's placed in the framework of steady, pounding, almost catchy industrial rhythms, as it is here, it seems at least partially tamed and ultimately tolerable if the listener is patient with it - and Swans is a band that demands much more attention than it's gotten. They are true innovators of heavy music, from grindcore to death metal to noise rock, and carved a truly singular niche for themselves in the post-punk/alternative world. Combining the depression of Joy Division with the anger of Throbbing Gristle, and the repetative power of both bands, then adding the messy, slow noise, growled vocals, themes of power and degradation, and wrenching two and three note riffs that were to become their trademark, Swans make a noise that effectively depicts a very dark and murky worldview. All underground music fans owe it to themselves to investigate immediately. Listening to Tool, NIN, Slayer and other popular outfits is fine, but to be truly hip I think you need to know the whole story.
The album begins VERY strongly, with a blast of feedback, a grumbling bass riff, and a powerful, menacing industrial rhythm. They are the backdrop for a roaring guitar drone and Michael Gira's repeated commands of "Flex your muscles" and "Be Hard" in an increasingly loud and angry growl. The song, "Stay Here," is a perfect kickoff for the set, combining everything about the album that is great: the ever increasing intensity, the dark lyrical themes, the massively heavy sound, and the uncompromising brutality. Among other highlights: "Big Strong Boss" approaches Danceability but before reaching it is very suddenly cut off, in an uncommon moment of Swans' gallows humor; "Blackout" showcases Gira's vocal chords getting a workout with loud, raspy growls; "Freak" is a rare break from the slow tempo and sludgy riffs, experimenting with tape loops and Gira's yelled ramblings about murder; "Weakling" gets into Einsturzende Neubauten-ish territory with metal percussion and groaning guitar drones. All of this music is actually a lot of fun, and with a little imagination from the listener - catchy. Of course, these aren't singalongs, they're "roaralongs."
Check this band out. You know you're interested. NOTE: The edition of 'Filth' that Amazon has released also contains a CD of collected Swans tracks from the 82-84 period called "Body to Body, Job to Job." Very good, but I don't have time to review it right now.