Swans

Experimental rock band Swans, who first emerged in the 1980s during New York’s No Wave scene, will be returning Down Under in January to play headline shows in Melbourne and Sydney.

Made up of Michael Gira, Norman Westberg, Christoph Hahn, Phil Puleo, Thor Harris and Christopher Pravdica, Swans have released an astounding 12 studio albums, with album 13 To Be Kind (out now through Young God Records) continuing to push boundaries and draw in listeners with their ability to create sounds which are equal parts beautiful and confronting.

After a 13-year break, Gira resurrected the Swans, releasing critically acclaimed albums My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope and The Seer. The latest album, produced by Gira himself and recorded by John Congleton at Sonic Ranch, was developed live during the Swans tours of 2012/13 and what resulted was two hours and ten tracks of mini, mind bending symphonies of hypnotic and psychedelic tendencies.

‘Even at their most claustrophobic and confrontational, there has always been a splendid, unsettling beauty to Swans’ music, with rock instrumentation and lyrics wrenched into jagged configurations often intended to sandpaper away at the nerves.’ – The Quietus

‘As it plays out, To Be Kind starts to resemble a cult procession unto itself, a mesmerizing spectacle of an omnipotent band whose sound continues to expand in scope and ranks swell in size’ – Pitchfork 9.2/10

Avant-garde to the extreme, Gira’s music is and all-encompassing experience that somehow affects your entire sensory system. You don’t just hear it or listen to it, but feel it. This latest record is no exception.’ – NME 9/10

The last two times we brought the Swans to Australia, their immersive, unique performances was an experience like no other and this is only expected to have magnified since then. An experience you truly do not want to miss out on!