Early Swans material is incredibly different from the latest version of the band. Albums like Filth and Cop were much more nihilistic and ugly than the monolithic, intensity-driven albums they've released in recent years. And then there's the in-between period of post-punk with gothic influence on albums like the masterful White Light from the Mouth of Infinity. But some things haven't changed. Swans always had a knack for expressing strong emotions with their songs. On Cop, Swans' second studio album, I get the distinct feeling of harsh futility expressed both lyrically and musically with its slow tempos, caustic guitar tone and repetitive structure.
Cop is a very logical progression from the bands first album Filth. It sounds similar in tone and structure, but everything is slowed down even further and the cacophony of it all has been turned way, way up. The album immediately sets its tone with squealing feedback and an amazingly sludgy riff (one that is repeated for the songs entirety) on Half Life. Aggressive feedback is often used in place of notes to make the album overpoweringly ugly. Overtop of the discordant marching rhythm of Job, frontman Michael Gira repeats "Body to body, job to job, heartache to heartache" as if grieving over the realization that everyday life is so hollow when boiled down to its basic fundamentals. Both early and especially recent versions of Swans have used minimal, repeated lyrics so as not to take the focus away from the music and the feelings/experiences that their songs conjure up. In fact, many of the lyrics on Cop sound simply like thoughts going through Gira's head, which he then expresses in his trademark snarl.
Cop seems to get slower in tempo as it plods forward, until you reach the closing track Thug where Norman Westburg's sludgy riffs move along with Gira's moaning vocals at an absolutely glacial pace. The song slows down as if the album is actually, physically dying in your ears. An appropriate end to an album as grimy and hideous as Cop. It's hard to express that I mean all of this in the best possible way. Swans set out to create an album that was ugly. It's about life beating you down to a pulp (sometimes literally, as in the song Cop). And they not only succeeded, but created one of the filthiest sounding things to be put on wax.
No comments:
Post a Comment