Seminal (again with that word) noise rockers Swans could be returning, and no, this is not a joke.
At a solo performance at Tufts University this past Sunday, the band’s founding member, Michael Gira performed a set composed of both old and new material. Following the show, Gira stuck around for a Q&A session and answered the question on everyone’s mind (via Brainwashed):
Brainwashed’s Jon Whitney asked him where he saw all of these songs going…I was a little surprised to hear Gira’s response: these songs reminded him more of Swans than Angels of Light. He said that it might be possible these songs would turn up on another Swans record. When I finally got the chance to ask him about this myself, he said that he didn’t want to get into it too much, but that he was definitely thinking of Swans again. Perhaps, he said, there would one day be an Angels of Light and Swans tour. And with that tantalizing bit of information, he said bye to everyone and got back into his car.
To summarize, a Swans reunion could be in the works! If this were to come to fruition, it would mark the first time the band has performed together since the release of its final album, Soundtracks For The Blind, in 1996. Following its disbanding, Gira went on to form Angels of Light.
What could be on the possible yet-to-be-announced new album? We’ll let Whitney finish this up:
The first [“Reeling the Liars In”] was a lyrically brutal song that featured virtually no accompaniment…During one part of the song, Gira sang, “The only true thing, the place to begin, is to burn up the liar pile.” There was a satisfying bitterness in his voice complimented by a narrative tone… “Inside Madeline” began with a pseudo-romantic chord progression that called to mind classical guitar pieces like “Malagueña.” It quickly changed as Gira sang, “The engine divine, is inside Madeline.”
How about that? A reunion of an act that dates before 1999! Who would have thought that’d happen this year? We’ll see as this unfolds, so keep your eyes peeled — or, just keep checking back.