Swans – Swans (1982)

June 25, 2021

Swans’ self-titled EP is a far cry from the punishing experimentation that the band would originally become renown for. Gira and his ever-revolving musician friends are no strangers to growth and change, but Swans’ self-titled is probably the only one time where they truly belonged to a scene or movement and didn’t stand out on their own. Loosely associated with many of the tropes of the no wave scene, Swans is an awkward record taking the lurching bass-driven beats and rhythms of the post-punk world and chopping it awkwardly with swathes of no wave weirdness.

Top all that off of course with some of Michael’s vocal performances and some interesting saxophone additions and you have the first four Swans songs. But hey, I’m not complaining, its great (and not a million miles away from what Michael did with Circus Mort before starting Swans) and its a piece of history now too.

Long live Swans!