#the beggar

[jgthirlwell]

05.17.23 Swans played at Music Hall of Williamsburg, concluding their year long 110 date world tour promoting the latest album The Beggar.

[spineless-lobster]

Odysseus LOVES his old beggar disguises doesn’t he?

[bashar-gibara]

[disease]

SWANS // PARADISE IS MINE [THE BEGGAR, JUN 2023]

[thebowerypresents]

Swans – Racket – May 16, 2024

Swans rose up out of the Lower East Side more than four decades ago, led by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira. They’ve survived a long breakup and another hiatus, and last year the highly influential experimental outfit put out their 16th studio album, The Beggar, which the Guardian dubbed, “dark and unsettling, purifying and beautiful.”

And with their spring tour just about over, Swans have returned to New York City for their last three shows of the year, the first of which was a rowdy affair in the Meatpacking District last night at Racket. 

(Swans close out their tour at Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight and tomorrow.)

Photos courtesy of Lexi Yob | @filmbyyobby

[strixessabre]

Need a judgmental Michael Gira button? Of course you do, look no further!

( Strixes' Sabre )

[the-whisperer-in-darkness]

Accurate image of me looking at tracking updates on my Swans record coming in HOPEFULLY Tuesday or by freak chance tomorrow

[blazinginferno626]

I noticed something really cool from a villainous episode today. In the episode he vvv there is a scene where black hat releases ghosts from his office.

There are three ghosts in particular that come into this shot. They are special because there are posts about them on Creepy Charly’s blog. 

First off is the penitent at the far right corner:

Then we have the one above the penitent the beggar:

The next one in the left corner I’m not entirely sure it’s the wanderer but I thought that it kinda looked like it so I thought I’d mention it.

This was a cool little detail I noticed so I thought I’d share.

[voidingintotheshout]

@saydams

Swans came through Philadelphia. I saw them. Here’s a clip. 

I would be remiss if I didn’t include Michael Gira doing the hand thing: 

Two pictures of Union transfer, where I saw them. I love the chandelier. It looks like a spaceship.

Finally the decibel level at the loudest part of the concert. Well, add about 5 dB to that, because the volume dropped right as I was doing the screenshot.

I almost forgot! He was nice enough to sign some stuff afterwards, so I picked up two things and he was nice enough to autograph them. He was super nice. I don’t know how he has any hearing left after being in that band for so many years.

I’ll be really excited to listen to them in three or four days when I have given my ears enough of a break. 

[tabinavi]

some albums i enjoyed! 7-19-23

i want to highlight some albums from the past few weeks I have listened to and enjoyed. these releases will be both new and old; i just want to speak my thoughts and praises on these albums. looking forward to doing future installments of this when i get the chances!

The Beggar - Swans (2023)

new Swans! and it may be Gira's last effort. this is a big step-up from their last effort. this album is a lot more focused, bringing a slow, folk sound. we're bringing back the 30min+ songs back! The Beggar Lover (Three) is a cool and long nod to the trilogy; i love it! tracks like The Beggar and Paradise is Mine are great tracks too. it's an overall great record to leave on, if this is Gira's last effort with Swans. who knows!

The Glow Pt. 2 - The Microphones (2001)

ugh, this may be a big one for me if i'm not careful. an album that's always been on my radar for it's cult following. The Glow Pt. 2 is beautiful, raw, and fragile. the lo-fi production can turn these soft, quiet songs into deep, emotional, and visceral experiences of music. The Moon is my favorite track on here; a track full of energy and rawness that encapsulates the listener in a driving organ, energetic drums, and beautiful saxophone licks. I Felt Your Shape is a track i've been sharing with someone close, hehe! i can see this record only growing closer with me as i give it more time.

For the First Time - Black Country, New Road (2021)

i put on this album too much. it's too good. i love the anxiety this album emits. the chamber influences on this post-punk/hardcore sound is unmatched. tracks like Science Fair and Sunglasses make me FERAL. everything about this record is so addictive. i'm working on a full length review, so i'm limiting myself for this short review. i just can't get enough of this album!

[dailymusicthoughts]

Swans - The Beggar

(I started not long ago so here's a few albums that I've listened too first)

Swans are my favorite band so I was pretty excited for this album! I liked the way they mixed up some of their old gothic style with their newer sound. But I'm gonna say that the post-rock elements weren't popping off as hard as on their last works. Especially on The Beggar Lover (Three) I wanted a more rewarding climax (still a good song tho). The self titled song was probably my favorite

Rating: 7/10

[disease]

THE BEGGAR LOVER: III SWANS | 43m [THE BEGGAR, JUN 2023]

[thebowerypresents]

Swans Rattle a Sold-Out Music Hall of Williamsburg on Sunday

Swans – Music Hall – October 1, 2023

The walls of Music Hall of Williamsburg were shaking on Sunday night. As was the floor and the ceiling and the body parts of everyone at the band’s third straight sold-out show at the venue. An opening set from guitarist Norman Westberg established the evening’s energy, solo guitar and effects that seemed to buzz and resonate into every nook of the club’s foundation, eventually finding sweet melodies and enchanting echoes.

A little after 9 p.m., Swans took the stage for their third of three packed shows. Crowded on a stage bathed in a deep red for the night, Michael Gira led the ensemble with the strums of an acoustic guitar. The simplicity of the opening chords soon yielded to complex layering, first Gira’s chanting lyrics, then a shower of cymbal rattling, shrieks of electric guitars, lap steel moans, and hair-raising bass and drum drones. It was a growing intensity that was mirrored by an almost pronounced gentleness running counter in the empty spaces left by the growing wall of sound, the drums reaching a tribal pitch as the whole room trembled in response, rattling parts of my body I’m not sure are supposed to be rattled. This was “The Beggar,” the title track of the newest release from the veteran noise-rockers, a thick sauna of sound, nearly unbearable and yet cleansing.

When I looked at the time again, it was 10 p.m. and I’m not sure how many songs had been played or if I had passed out from the intensity of the noise, but it did feel good. The rest of the night was a taffy-pull of seven or eight more songs, many, like “The Memorious” and “Ebbing,” were off the new record, dark poetry and wild-eyed, room-shaking music. The latter was a personal highlight, a spellbinding intro, Gira’s chanting feeling like a summoning of spirit as he sang, “Gestating — just dreaming / Not breathing” making way to lovely melodic bits even as the chaotic energy grew. In the end, the show was a two-hour-plus endurance test, similar peaks and troughs of dark and light, a massive sound that, despite all the vibration, had no cracks in its foundation. —A. Stein | @Neddyo

Photos courtesy of Samantha Schraub | @samcsch

[strixessabre]

Add a Swan to your life.

( Strixes’ Sabre )