Definitely do The Glowing Man next. It's the final album of the trilogy of The Seer -> To Be Kind -> The Glowing Man. Also very nice of Spotify to remove most of the lyrics from this album for no reason.
0:52 Lunacy 4:14 Mother of the World 8:04 The Wolf 9:26 The Seer 16:53 The Seer Returns 19:48 93 Ave. Blues 21:24 The Daughter Brings the Water 23:33 Song For a Warrior (feat. Karen O) 25:40 Avatar 29:00 A Piece of the Sky 35:30 Apostate
@@ImmutableUniverse They're loosely connected in the sense that they feel like natural evolutions of one another, to my knowledge it's more of an unofficial trilogy, not something recognized by the band. Also these three albums represent a certain era for swans so people just say "The Trilogy" when they want to refer to that certain era, Michael Gira himself said that The Glowing Man was the end for that iteration of Swans so anything after that is considered a new incarnation of the band
@@ImmutableUniverse yes, they're all 2 hour double albums, they're thematically consistent and have similar song structures (their classic build up, climax and release)
It's kind of head-cannon, but to me the trilogy of The Seer, To Be Kind, and The Glowing Man feels like the stages of Hell, Purgatory, and Ascension. Spiritual, cyclical, samsara. The Seer feels like rustic, ritualistic, and organic darkness; To Be Kind feels like nuclear fission; The Glowing Man feels like a supernova.
I actually wrote an essay about this exact connection in my “Evil in Literature” class, I basically connected the trilogy to Dante’s Divine Comedy (Inferno, Purgatory, Paradise)
Been waiting for this one!!! So glad you strapped in. After The Seer and To Be Kind, The Glowing Man completes the trilogy, and The Beggar acts like an epilogue. Both are essential Swans records, and you should hear them!-and if you’re wanting more afterwards, The Great Annihilator, Children of God, and White Light From the Mouth of Infinity are verified classics too 👌
Probably the scariest Swans album, to me anyway. I think all Swans albums carry a certain sense of dread, but this one definitely captures more of a downward spiral into malice and chaos. The album cover helps with that, a literal monstrous feel to the music. So glad you’re reacting to this
for me The Seer, Soundtracks for the Blind and also Greed/Holy Money are all pretty equally scary but for different reasons which i find interesting. The seer feels like the most simple, horror movie-like fear out of all of them. Soundtracks is a very psychological and surreal kind of fear, and greed/holy money are scary to me because their sound just feels so bleak and oppressive. I find it very cool that Swans is able to pull off so many subtly different kinds of fear so well
@@Qwertyuiopaz imo soundtracks just fucks you up in some song, but the seer has an overall goofy terrifying night in alaska vibes, but the scariness of something is subjective
@@zxr9291 that’s fair too. I haven’t listened to Greed/Holy Money yet, but from what I can understand The Seer is the most cohesive and “storytelling” of the 3, which personally works more for me. The seer makes me actively scared of what’s happening, while SFTB is more of a long lasting, subtle fear. Makes me excited to listen to Greed/Holy Money though
@@QwertyuiopazI think I could also say that SFTB had a more lasting fear and unsettling feeling on me while Seer was kinda more traditionally scary? idk how to explain it
A lot of people are telling you to do The Glowing Man next, but you should check out either The Great Annihilator or White Light From the Mouth of Infinity if you do more Swans. Pre-Soundtracks for the Blind albums are great and much different sounding. This band has a long and super interesting discography worth bouncing around in. Keep up the great work Smags!
My favourite band again! If you want to dive further into the catalogue I recomend Children of God. The glowing man is amazing too, but cog would give you a nice insight into their musical range, same goes for The Great Annihilator.
So glad to see you get to this, it's definitely my favorite album of theirs. I saw them on this tour in San Francisco in 2012, easily one of the top musical experiences of my life. I really appreciated how much you got into A Piece of the Sky. It's my favorite song in their whole discography. Really really good stuff.
Smags, for some reason I stumbled upon your channel and, after watching some of your reviews, I gotta say that I'm totally invested in the channel and I really love you, man. Keep the reviews coming! (The Seer Returns is a banger, indeed. That song and Avatar are my favs off The Seer).
as someone with bipolar disorder i see this album as the story of someone’s struggle with mental illness, especially since “lunacy” originally specifically meant bipolar. this album has meant a lot to me and “song for a warrior” has lifted me up during some of my darkest moments, i love the power of swan’s music and the many different interpretations it leads to
FILTH is their first album and it’s honestly my favorite. much more minimalistic, brutal, loud, etc, but i think it exemplifies Gira’s talent as a songwriter. also some political funness in there CHILDREN OF GOD is probably their 2nd best album. it’s the first Swans album you could call “beautiful,” and it has some of their best songs of all time. good stuff!
you should do how i loved you by angels of light if you want more sincerely beautiful music from gira ala song for a warrior & a piece of the sky. if that album had the swans name on the cover, it'd be considered one of their absolute best, i'm certain. you'd love it!
Swans is my close friend's favorite band, and has made his favorite album. You know what is also one of his absolute favorite albbums? That's right, my suggestion! Magnolia Electric Co. by Songs Ohia, you should reeally listen to it, you won't be dissapointed.
A lot of folks are suggesting The Glowing Man, and it is a wonderful record and I think the best of the trilogy, it's probably my favorite of all their records but I would love to hear your thoughts on Leaving Meaning or The Beggar, especially with your appreciation of Song for a Warrior and the beauty that Swans can have too. The Beggar especially has some of Swan's most beautiful gorgeous music on it but both are wonderful.
I know given your Swans journey so far, The Glowing Man does make the most sense for your next Swans album, and it is absolutely one of my favorites in their discography. But I would genuinely interested to see you explore other parts of their catalog too. The thing about Swans is that they have changed their sound pretty radically over the course of their career. Specifically I'd love to see you react to their album White Light From the Mouth of Infinity. Couldn't be more different from something like The Seer, but also among their better albums.
More Swans would be amazing, if I had to recommend just one of their albums it'd definitely be The Glowing Man. If I could rec more I'd say The Great Annihilator, other than SFTB, it's my favorite pre reunion album from them.
its very different stypistifally to the other swans youve heard, but i really enjoy children of god. really dark and brooding post punk and gorgeous vocals from both m. gira and jarboe
Hooray, finally a new Swans reaction! They have so many high-quality albums that you should also get to at some point. I agree with the comments that the most logical choice for your next reaction is The Glowing Man which is kind of a continuation of this one and To Be Kind, although it's more ethereal and pretty, if I may say so. Hopefully it won't take as long! Also still patiently and eagerly waiting for your reactions to Third by Portishead and The Moon & Antarctica by Modest Mouse. I'm sure you'll like them! 😉
Thanks for reviewing this album and putting it on my radar what a good listen! Some Suggestions Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I am That's What I'm Not Queens of the Stone Age - Like Clockwork... Glass Beach - Plastic Death Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Moody Blue - Days of future passed Sonic Youth - Goo Queens of the Stone Age - Rated R Dinosaur Jr. - You're Living all over me
LOVE YOUR VIDEOS MY GUY a few recommendations: Process - Sampha (experimental r&b, great production) Nurture - Porter Robinson (light summer electric with fun production) Koi No Yokan - Deftones (very heavy, sexier and heavier radiohead imo) Hypochondriac - Brakence (very experimental emo rap, glitch pop) Reading Writing And Arithmetic - The Sundays (the smiths ish, with beautiful female vocals)
Eventually you should react to their live album “Swans Are Dead”. The first disc was recorded in 1997 on their final tour, while the second disc was recorded in 1995 for their Great Annihilator tour. The version of “Blood Promise” on that album is one of the best things I’ve ever heard.
I might be the only one who feels this way but imo the Seer is the best of their new records , the atmosphere feels the thickest to me, to be kind sounds almost dry in comparison, i like swans at their most texturally rich, a piece of the sky might be my favorite modern swans track (also lowkey my least fav track on here is the seer returns and that's specifically the track that it seems like Michael was like "let's really focus in on that sound on the next couple records, i really wanna make post rock that sounds like it was made by those little furry aliens from star wars" shit like a little god in my hands makes me nauseous)
i fuck with the 𝓼𝓪𝓵𝓾𝓽𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓼 heavy, dont stop doing that also speaking of the seer... if there was a nicer version... it could be called... the DEER!!!! (get it cuz the animal on the cover is BROWN?? like a deer!)
The funny thing is you definitely weren’t THE SEEing-ER the album, your were The Listening-er to it hahah. I have a big stand up performance in a week, wish me luck 😁
