Swans - To Be Kind

Album: To Be Kind

Artist: Swans

Released: May 12th, 2014

Genre: Post-rock, experimental rock

I've decided to do something a little different today. I've recently become very interested in music as a medium of artistic expression. While most people can attest that they may not be a movie watcher or a video game player or a sports fan, I cannot name a medium that brings people together more than music. Let's be real here, everyone loves music. Whether it be a casual listen to their favorite song by their favorite band or hardcore listening to some experimental soundscapes in the underground music scene, try to name someone that honestly isn't a fan of music that isn't being super contrarian. Now, I'm not incredibly musically inclined. The most "talent" I have from a music standpoint is an average singing voice. But today, I thought I would try to talk about some albums that I absolutely adore. Some by artists you may know, others that are literally who unless you have done some browsing here and there on music discussion boards like the /mu/ board on 4chan. 

That being said, I'm gonna gush about one of my favorite albums of all time, To Be Kind by Swans.

Now I know what you're probably asking: "Who on God's green Earth are Swans?" I'm glad you hypothetically asked. Swans are a long-running experimental rock outfit originating from New York City. They formed in 1982 during the height of the no-wave scene, a sect of underground music that exemplified a nihilistic sound that was abrasive and heavy. Swans have been spearheaded by frontman and multiinstrumentalist Michael Gira ever since the band formed in the early 80s to their reformation in 2010. Over the course of the band's history, they have had multiple shifts in sound and lineup changes. While they started off as a no-wave, industrial rock band, before evolving into post-rock and gothic rock. After their breakup in 1997 and a myriad of side projects, the band reformed in 2010, bringing in a more evolved sound of their work in the 90s.

Swans from 2012 to 2016 would release a trilogy of heavily acclaimed albums, and at the centerpiece of this trilogy is the album To Be Kind, a behemoth of a record that has a run time of over 2 hours. Modern Swans have been known for their long, repetitive soundscapes, cryptic lyrics, and complex instrumentation, and it's showcased excellently on this album.

If I could describe this album simply, I'd call it a massive wall of sound that crushes the listener under its impressive size. Nowhere is this more apparent than on the track "Bring the Sun/Toussaint L'Ouverture," a gargantuan track not only in length at over 34 minutes but also in pure sound. The instrumentation is so immense that it makes a listener like me feel like I'm coming to grips with something larger than life.

I should probably mention that given the length of this album, and the style of sound Swans are going for, this is not an album that I can pop on and just have the most casual of listens, like popping on a favorite tune because of the awesome riff or great singing. This is an album that requires the listener to be patient and disciplined when taking it all in. Tracks on this album have a hypnotic, repetitive sound that may sound jarring at first, not to mention kind of simple, but the progression of the tracks as they go on make for a compelling listen, like on tracks such as "Just A Little Boy" or the opening track "Screen Shot." The former having an otherworldly, spiritual atmosphere to it, and the latter sounds like the song is pulling you into another world.

That's not to say some tracks aren't accessible to a casual listener. Songs like "Oxygen" and "A Little God in My Hands" are great tracks to familiarize yourself with Swans' sound, not to mention their relatively shorter run times make for an easier experience.

To Be Kind to me is liking having a larger than life experience and realizing one's insignificance in the grander scheme of things. Whether it be the mantras on the song "Some Things We Do" that have lyrics that represent humanity at its most primal of actions, or celebration of being alive and breathing on the song "Oxygen." There's a very humanistic theme to this album, representing how little the human experience matters, but also not taking it for granted. 

To Be Kind is not an easy album. It's not an album that relies on a few catchy songs to bring you in or a hard-hitting riff that gets your headbanging. This album is more of an experience in witnessing something so large that it makes your existence seem trivial. That being said, this album isn't bleak, but more of witnessing yourself entering a plane of existence beyond comprehension.

If you're looking for something challenging to listen to or something different, I definitely recommend To Be Kind. While it's not an album I would start off with within Swans' immense catalog, I'd say either The Great Annihilator or Leaving Meaning or better places to start if you want to ease yourself in, it's still a fantastic experience that I can't recommend enough.