In 2010 Michael Gira regrouped his legendary group Swans, not to scoop up 'greatest hits' but to pick up the thread again. With the CD My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky (2010, JK163476) Swans already made a big impression, and the concerts that followed were remarkably successful. During this tour, the material that is now appearing on this double CD was created, an edition that Gira sees
… as a result of thirty years of work and inspiration. And the listener has a lot to choose from. Not songs, not even songs, but eleven works totaling two hours in length. Michael Gira ignores compromises or limits here more than ever: we hear abstract instrumental constructions, often without text. Especially in the first 4, 5 minutes from Mother Of The World it is clear how far Swans is from the mainstream. Relentless minimal music, that's what it is, and then we are only at the beginning of this double CD: the 32-minute long The Seer, Avatar and the astonishing The Apostate have yet to rumble over us. This is Swans in optima forma. (TC)more
