THE SEER by Swans

7/31/2019 THE SEER by Swans

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CLAIRAUDIENCE: The Seer by SwansBy Pieter Uys

All previous incarnations of Swans find an echo on this ambitious

work built around three long pieces: The Seer, A Piece of the Sky

and The Apostate. Additional instruments that enrich the sound

include accordion, bells, clarinet, hammer dulcimer, orchestral

bells, vibraphone and hand -made violin thing.


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As early as Children of God, and through White Light from the Mouth of Infinity

(The Most Unfortunate Lie) and Die T r ist Zu (Ligetis Breath /Hilflos Kind) it

was clear that Michael Gira is as much a modern classical as rock composer.

Evidence of the orchestral appears already on the opening track Lunacy where

chiming rhythms and mantric vocals characterize the first part until an abrupt

shift in tempo, instrumentation and vocals transform the lunacy into something

else entirely.
http://www.amazon.com/White-Light-Mouth-Infinity/dp/B000S5AY30/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1346160278&sr=1-1&keywords=swans+white+light+from+the+mouth+of+infinityhttp://www.amazon.com/White-Light-Mouth-Infinity/dp/B000S5AY30/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1346160278&sr=1-1&keywords=swans+white+light+from+the+mouth+of+infinityhttp://www.amazon.com/White-Light-Mouth-Infinity/dp/B000S5AY30/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1346160278&sr=1-1&keywords=swans+white+light+from+the+mouth+of+infinityhttp://www.amazon.com/White-Light-Mouth-Infinity/dp/B000S5AY30/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1346160278&sr=1-1&keywords=swans+white+light+from+the+mouth+of+infinity


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These shifts continue on Mother of the World with its three movements. An

edgy repetitive instrumental intro with vocalising towards the end is followed

by a brief interlude of gasping and stuttering vocals introducing an orchestral

segment. The song concludes on a mid-tempo pop-rock note with traditionalsinging.

The centrepiece, The Seer, reminded me of the 1998 Body Lovers project

called Mumber One of Three , a 73-minute excursion through alternately

soothing, spooky, soulful, depressing, uplifting & inspiring soundscapes.

Industrial passages alternate with swirling symphonic textures but often aparticular movement incorporates widely disparate elements like mechanical

drones that give way to traditional instruments that fade in turn for solo

segments.
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The Seer has even more: bagpipes, chimes, chants, choral voices, harmonica,

horns, glockenspiel, gongs, feedback, fractured vocals, harsh industrial beats,

polyphonic drones, percussion, ragas, guitar squalls and electronic noise. I see

it all is Giras intermittent vocal contribution throughout most of thismaelstrom. About halfway through, the other sounds retreat somewhat as a

crashing drum pattern takes its stark turn until it is silenced by the mournful

wails of what may be the aforementioned hand -made violin thing and other

sax-sounding instruments. At about minute 28, Gira starts singing on the final

part that resembles The Angels of Light.


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The voice collages that Jarboe contributes to The Seer Returns resemble those

on Dark Consort , her collaborative work with Cedric Victor. This track has a

looped marching beat behind Giras repetitive sometimes sung, sometimes

chanted vocals.

The ghost of Arnold Schnberg haunts 93 rd Ave Blues with high pitched squeals,

squeaks, crashes and mumbled disembodied voices. This is Arnold resurrected

from the time of his early descent into the dodecatonal, e.g. Sechs Lieder Opus

III. This psychotic chamber music ultimately fragments into cacophony until a

forceful drone displaces it to end the piece on a saner note.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/74619080/Dark-Consorthttp://www.scribd.com/doc/74619080/Dark-Consorthttp://www.scribd.com/doc/74619080/Dark-Consorthttp://www.scribd.com/doc/74619080/Dark-Consort


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Hark! Angels of Light reappear to grace the short mid-tempo piece The

Daughter Brings The Water. Another, stranger angel inhabits Song For a

Warrior. It is Swans anima emerging in a fragile, tuneful ballad with lead vocal

by Karen O. Its conventional structure brings only brief relief as the wearydelivery and oblique lyrics have the same eerie effect as J arboes spooky

contributions of yonder.

Bells and percussion sandwich Giras observations of the performer as medium

on Avatar with its moments of frenzied intensity. This intensity reaches further

heights on The Apostate, a majestic tour de force of surging, propulsive rock

with howling and swirling guitars, crashing cymbals, hypnotic bass riffs,

thudding drums and vocal ululations that may leave one feeling simultaneously

brutalized and elated.
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The con suming fire of Piece of the Sky gives way to Jarboes mesmerising

multitracked choral vocals shifting from soprano to contralto and deeper as

Giras voice joins in , over a sustained drone occasionally infused by isolated

moans. Then a buoyant dance of stringed instruments erupts, followed by

undulating Popol Vuh-like textures. The track finally morphs into a melodic folk

song with captivating lyrics.


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Talking of lyrics, they take a back seat on The Seer just like they did on

Soundtracks For The Blind. The music is the message which speaks in tones of

many hues. Both the brutal and the sublime disturbs in its intensity. Something

haunts the elegiac and the exultant, the funereal and the ferocious in equalmeasure. That is the magic of Swans. It was spread thin on the 2010 album My

Father... but its back in force on The Seer.

THE SEER by Swans

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