The Glowing Man

Swans - The Glowing Man
Critic Score
Based on 25 reviews
2016 Ratings: #86 / 1004
User Score
2016 Rank: #4All Time: #115
Liked by 555 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
Louder Than War

An album that leaves you exhausted and bathed in sweat when you listen to it and emotionally and physically turned inside out.

100
The Arts Desk

The Glowing Man is not just the most impressive album of this particular self-proclaimed “iteration” of Swans, but can easily lay claim to being their best to date.

91
Pretty Much Amazing

The album is monumental in every sense of the word, a visceral testament to the abilities of an incredible group of musicians, each member contributing equally to its breathtaking chiaroscuro.

90
The Needle Drop

Legendary experimental rock outfit Swans returns with one of the most transcendental releases in their discography: The Glowing Man.

83
A.V. Club

If The Glowing Man and its recent expansive—and invitingly difficult—predecessors have proven anything, it’s that Gira’s mission is to be boundary-less.

83
Consequence of Sound

In all of that lies the brilliance of Swans. No experimental group has been able to so perfectly reflect the psychological turmoil of existence and the heavy burden of our pains and regrets.

81
Pitchfork

Swans close their current chapter on a subdued but powerful note.

80
Kerrang!
Those looking for the conventional will find it, relatively speaking, in the sparseness of When Will I Return?, while the near-29-minute title-track--like the album it's housed on--is both a journey and a total trip.
80
Spectrum Culture

This is altogether a gentler Swans than existed even on the occasionally blissful To Be Kind.

80
Mojo
These tracks chose to morph and mutate rather than petrify in any sense.
80
Uncut

It has a slightly transitory feel; a half-step back from those monolithic builds and whiplash grooves, gesturing towards something more contemplative and… well, “softer” feels the wrong word, but certainly weathered by the journey.

80
Clash

With a running time of just under two hours, ‘The Glowing Man’ may prove too punishing for some but those willing to invest time in its fiery depths will discover yet another remarkable Swans album.

80
Slant Magazine

A defiantly draining listen that's also weirdly uplifting in its ruthless pursuit of a singular vision, The Glowing Man confirms that Gira is an unparalleled artist operating at a strange experimental nexus, somewhere outside the defined borders of folk, metal, classical, and drone.

80
The Sydney Morning Herald

The Glowing Man is, according to Michael Gira, a record in which the Swans leader – 62 years old, 14 LPs in – stares into the face of mortality, infinity, God. It sounds like it, too; such lofty thematic ambition matched across a two-hour triple-album striving for the firmament, the transcendent.

80
The Line of Best Fit

We’re left with yet another cathartic artefact that, whilst perhaps shrinking in the shadow of what came before, bookends the latest metamorphosis of a band whose next form is anyone’s guess.

80
Record Collector

The Glowing Man ... finds Swans ever so slightly more playful, and on the cusp of a new era. 

80
SPIN

Unsettling as it may be, this conflict is a testament to Swans’ unparalleled ability to translate the absurd violence of the human condition into music that’s as intoxicating as it is intense.

80
AllMusic
The album serves as another exhilarating portal into the unknown.
80
Classic Rock

At times Swans sound like they’ve harnessed the unstoppable swell of the great oceans, most powerfully on the 29-minute title track, which veers from euphoric mantra to pulverising Krautrock with mesmerising effect.

70
Drowned in Sound

Read as something of a restatement of ideals The Glowing Man is impressive, if perhaps unessential.

70
Exclaim!

Fans of the band will enjoy the mature and practiced sound of this very good album, but the unconvinced might remain so, as the band don't exactly reinvent the wheel on The Glowing Man.

66
Paste

A record that’s as uncompromising as Swans’ best work from this era, but hardly as essential.

65
Under the Radar

Whereas The Seer and To Be Kind defied boredom and logic with two-hour runtimes, The Glowing Man wears its 118 minutes less gracefully.

60
Rolling Stone

While their long, drawn-out, circling dark clouds remain potent, ultimately The Glowing Man is the weakest of the three powerful epics they've released since 2012.

60
Tiny Mix Tapes

This failure to consistently engage will perhaps be as much a block on its reception, appreciation, and interpretation as any uncertain allegation bearing on its author’s private life.

BradTasteMusic
98

Erasing my old review to talk about this album, that has grown to be one of the most hypnotic listens I’ve ever heard. It’s no surprise that I have enjoyed Swans work. To Be Kind is a behemoth of an album that feels larger than life. Soundtracks for the Blind is an album that is shocking and challenging, but satisfying every step of its insanely long journey. With The Glowing Man, we get something completely different.

I ran across this album after hearing TBK expecting something ... read more

barcooper
97

A dreadful exploration of mortality.

Here we are again, another Swans album. Since I've heard To Be Kind a couple of months ago Swans turned out to be one of my favorite bands quickly, and I've been extremely intrigued with this album for a while now, but haven't quite found the time to sit through it. Now that I have, it blew my already high expectations out of the water.

The Glowing Man is the third and final installment in the band's 3 album trilogy since 2012's The Seer, right after ... read more

LonelyHipHopFan
70

Swans Discography Deep Dive #14: My Favorite Hobby Is (The) Blowing Men

How does one end a trilogy (I know, not a real trilogy, don't @ me, I will cry and feel hurt)? Well, my idea would be to end it with a bang. You know, you build up the foundations with the first one, you expand on the themes and concepts with the second one and then you punch the audience in the stomach and curb stomp their ass with the third one. Interestingly, Swans didn't do that. This a fairly somber and laid-back ... read more

thefatkid
100

Second album I've heard from swans and this one feels even better than the other one. I'm just lost for words with this one from the first track to the last one. But i did kinda fall asleep at The World Looks Red / The World Looks Black i still remember the track but i just forgot that i was there but when i got up the next song started i really liked but The Glowing Man just takes the cake i was in a hypnosis i was mashing my hands to the drums i was swinging from left to right and i just ... read more

denkirena
95

the end of one of the greatest 3 album runs of all time

vinithekid
87

Visceral, spiritual, larger than life, hopeless yet hopeful

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Track List

Disc 1
1Cloud of Forgetting
12:43
95
2Cloud of Unknowing
25:12
97
3The World Looks Red / The World Looks Black
14:27
94
4People Like Us
4:32
91
Disc 2
1Frankie M
20:58
97
2When Will I Return?
5:26
94
3The Glowing Man
28:50
98
4Finally, Peace
6:15
96
Total Length: 1 hour, 58 minutes
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Added on: April 5, 2016