Swans

Between 2012 and 2016, with the trilogy made up of “The Seer” (2012), “To Be Kind” (2014) and “The Glowing Man” (2016), Michael Gira's Swans brought to life the phase that many have dubbed their “monster” era. Sprawling, monumental tracks that– through maniacal, high-powered repetition – fused ecstasy and torture, orgasm and pain. 

The label of monster compositions, within this trilogy, can only refer to tracks like “The Seer” (thirty-two minutes), “Apostate” (twenty-three minutes), “Bring The Sun/Toussaint L’Ouverture” (thirty-four minutes), “Cloud Of Unknowing” (twenty-five minutes), “Frankie M” (twenty-one minutes), “The Glowing Man” (twenty-eight minutes) – all tracks that live are twisted and stretched out even further, with volumes so extreme that the sound becomes physically perceptible matter, making the live experience nothing short of mystical.

If, however, we look at the closing track of the trilogy's second LP, “To Be Kind”, there's the title track, which perfectly condenses, in just (so to speak) eight minutes, all the monster tracks of the period. 

Split into two parts, “To Be Kind” opens with Gira's sermonizing, guru-like, prophet's voice (his desperate folk soul), which once again carries forward the autobiographical figure of the mistreated, abandoned child, as in the 90s masterpiece “Helpless Child”. “Be kind”, a request that turns out to be both a prayer and a mark of possession, exposing the ambiguity at the heart of asymmetrical human relationships (adult-child, torturer-victim).

The tension builds until, at the 4:50 mark, it hits the first of the walls of sound that grow in power second by second, with impassable guitar chords that far surpass the guitar symphonies of pioneer Glenn Branca.

Ominous silences foreshadow the chord changes, the drums build in intensity until the 7:40 mark, where the repeated distortions of Michael Gira's and Norman Westberg's guitars reach their maximum possible power – live, just short of certain acoustic trauma. The sound becomes genuine matter that envelops listeners, perceptible through the body and through the objects in the venue, which vibrate as if hit by an earthquake.

The peak of Swans' power condensed into eight minutes in which Gira surpasses his mentor Glenn Branca. To be listened to at the highest possible volume.

To be kind, to be kind

To be real, to be new

To be sung by a song that’s untrue

The falling sun, the fallen one

In a bed, painted blue, touching you

Listening, just listening

To the rain, to the wind, in the field

To be kind, to be kind

To be lost, in a bed, touching you

To be lost, to be lost

To be found in the sound of this room

“There are millions and millions of stars in your eyes…”

Ride the wave of great music

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02/05/2026