Swans
Deliquescence

The long end of this chapter in the history of the Swans, which began back in 2009 when Michael Gira decided to revive the group, will officially conclude with the three dates the band has scheduled at the Warsaw in Brooklyn, New York from November 2 to 4, 2017. Ending in New York, after all, is not coincidental since that's where it all started. On this occasion, performances will include Carla Bozulich, Anna von Hausswolff, and ADULT, whose latest album 'Detroit House Guests' was recorded with the collaboration of Michael Gira.

This is a choice that Michael Gira has described as painful, which he had already announced in a press release at the time of the release of the last studio album, 'The Glowing Man' (two tracks from the album: 'People Like Us' and 'Finally, Peace' were on the same occasion described as 'farewell songs'), released on June 17, 2016, and recorded in several sessions between El Paso (with John Congleton), Dallas, Seattle, and Berlin (with Doug Henderson who also handled the album's mastering). A long letter in which he passionately declared that the Swans reunion had been, in the first place, a true act of love, secondly motivated by a desire not to repeat the band's previous manifestations, and in any case, a great experience both artistically and personally from that moment.

After the departure of Norman Westberg (guitars), Kristof Hahn (lap-steel guitar, loops), Phil Puleo (drums), Christopher Pravdica (bass), Thor Harris (percussions), at the conclusion of the tour for 'The Glowing Man', Michael Gira has also stated that he will continue to make music under the name 'Swans' with a new cast of collaborators. He also mentioned having new ideas about the sound the project will take and how it will sound live, but did not provide any particular previews on the matter. Knowing his genius and inventiveness, as well as his outstanding artistic qualities, we can indeed expect anything. The feeling is that the sound in the future might be less 'sumptuous' and devastating than now, but that is just my thought.

After the release of the album, the band has been on tour (with the addition of Paul Wallfisch on keyboards) since 2016 and this, still ongoing, will continue regularly (with a scheduled date at the Circolo Magnolia in Segrate, Milan on August 2) until the aforementioned three concluding dates in Brooklyn announced by Michael Gira himself last May 17.

Meanwhile, on the same date of May 17, there is the publication via Young God Records of a double live album recorded during the same tour and on the two separate dates of September 3, 2016, at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco and October 18, 2016, at the Huxley Neue Welt in Berlin, for a total of seven tracks and 155 minutes.

The double album, titled 'Deliquescence', can be defined within the limits of possibility as a documentary of the final tour of this historical phase of the Swans. Within the limits of possibility because every live performance of the Swans is, by necessity, different from all others and consequently, this double album (released in a limited edition of 3,000 copies) can more be considered as a photograph, a group snapshot, a sort of souvenir photo representing Michael Gira and his companions in adventure.

The album features three previously unreleased tracks, never recorded before and which will never be released again, and four historic pieces, including three obviously taken from the last album, 'Cloud of Forgetting' and 'Cloud of Unknowing', described at the time by Michael Gira as two 'prayers', the title track 'The Glowing Man', which is one of the most significant tracks of this experience, considering that this track was already embryonically born during the recordings of 'To Be Kind' and further developed during the sessions of 'The Gate' with what were improvisations on 'Bring The Sun' and then further worked on over the years to become the main body of the last studio album and also of the entire tour. Additionally, there is what I would describe as a powerful version of 'Screen Shot' (from the 'To Be Kind' album of 2014). In fact, 'The Glowing Man', along with 'The Knot', one of the unreleased tracks from 'Deliquescence' (along with 'Deliquescing' and 'The Man Who Refused to Be Unhappy'), is consequently also the most representative track of this album as well as the conclusion of a work that some have dubbed a long marathon.

Let's be clear: this Swans album, like the previous recent ones, is certainly not an easy listen. Beyond the track lengths ('The Knot' over forty-five minutes; 'Cloud of Unknowing' more than twenty-nine minutes, 'The Glowing Man' almost forty...) the band's sound is certainly beyond what can be considered every limit of sonic experimentation in transcending every barrier of sound. We are basically talking about over two and a half hours of minimalistic and avant-garde noise and extreme and obsessive drone music on the verge of what is literally a mind-blowing experience.

The sound of the Swans, regarding this historical phase from 2009 to 2017, is a sound that admits no compromises. As in great love stories and this for Michael Gira is and has been a great love story, we are talking about something that is passion in its purest state and in its most radical manifestations. This applies also to what is and will be their final album. Once again, there are no alternatives: take it or leave it. It's up to you.