The Seer, the new album from reconstituted NY postpunk drone-gods Swans, is a masterpiece of insane heaviness: 10 songs spread out over two hours, full of yelps and screeches and tribal thuds and…   Read Story »

New York primal-noise pioneers Swans might not have the same lineup as they did when they were making audience members puke with how loud they were, but Michael Gira's reconstituted band of warriors…   Read Story »

Jeff Mangum has justifiably been getting the lion's share of the attention surrounding the I'll Be Your Mirror festival; when a reclusive indie god comes out of hiding, it's a big deal. But the…   Read Story »

You rarely see older bands come back with such force, but the reactivated Swans' My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky was a total triumph. (As were the live shows that supported it.) They…   Read Story »

As we've heard from places like The New Yorker, NYTimes, and everywhere in between, the reactivated Swans are a powerhouse and a near religious live force. I spoke about this firsthand when recapping…   Read Story »

Friday night's Brooklyn Masonic Temple date was Swans's first hometown show in 14 years. Haunting The Chapel organized it with the Blackened Music Series and ISSUE Project Room (it was the second…   Read Story »

Swans' My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky finds Michael Gira seamlessly shifting from Angels Of Light mode to the heavier, noisier realm of his earlier incarnation(s), adding newfound…   Read Story »

As previously reported, Michael Gira has "re-activated" Swans for their first U.S. shows in more than a decade. (Full disclosure: I'm helping put on one of those shows.) As we also made clear in…   Read Story »

In January I posted about Swans' plans to reform, record, and tour. At the time, I had no idea I'd be helping to organize their biggest ever show in New York City. It's an honor -- Swans'…   Read Story »

As the post title over at MySpace reads "COMING SOON, NEW SWANS ALBUM AND TOUR(S)." And as close readers will also note, the seminal noise-rock crew's swansaredead MySpace page has been updated with…   Read Story »