I am admittedly a newcomer to Ethel Cain's schtick, so I didn't really know what to expect. Whatever my expectations were, this album comfortably surpassed those as this is a pretty dark album that is handled really well with pretty great concepts and this is coming from someone who is deep in the dronehole with more esoteric artists. While the more traditional songs on the album like Punish and Vacillator do kind of take me out of the darker parts of the album by providing moments of ... read more

Notes:
- Book of Daniel is a pretty good opener and I appreciate Quadeca's inclusion being in the background because Danny Brown's rapping thus far has been really good
- Title track is nothing special but the raps are good and the little outro is fun
- i NEED to tap into underscores Copycats was legitimately amazing like genuinely everything to the production to her vocals are so so good and catchy
- johnnascus's Interesting vocals on 1999 remind me of videos I'll see on my ... read more

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>_>

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Well, I'm finally here. Swans' true magnum opus. The one that put a capstone on the band (until its revival in 2010). To say this was a long time coming is an understatement. My older brother had gifted this album to me on vinyl, coming with a signed piece of paper from the band and a digital copy of Die Tur Ist Zu, for my birthday this year. He used to be a fan of this project and The Burning World until he stopped listening to music as often as I do. I told ... read more

In a career full of black sheep, this one's underdog status runs far deeper and far darker than its wool. It is the surreal culmination of every sound of theirs thus far, the apocalyptic feel and lyrical prowess of Children Of God with the thrashing ugliness and instrumentation of Filth. It is the beaty of Love Of Life finally reunited with the manic highs of White Light. Much like the black hole of its namesake, The Great Annihilator is both the way in and the way out of madness. It is ... read more

NOOOOOOOOOOOO MY BUNNIES!!!!!!!!

Contrary to popular belief, I don't really think this sounds too much like White Light. Sure, there are similarities, but the use of recordings really helps the album stand out as WLFTMOI's (immaculate acronym) more reserved younger brother. True to the first word in the album's title, Love Of Life is a much more melancholic and, at times, romantic project. Whereas its older brother's angst came in the form of tracks with names such as ... read more

Yippee-ki-yay! 200th album review here! So over the past couple of months I've been making my way through Swans' discography similarly to how I went through GY!BE's discography last year. Now, up 'til now it's been some pretty low lows (cough cough COP IS SOOOO BORING) and some pretty impressive highs (Children Of God), but nothing mind-boggling.

I am pleased to inform you that we at Pr. Fly Labs have finally found something mind-boggling.

From the first 30 seconds of ... read more

I do not care. This album, while their most commercial yet, has some of their most replayable and addictive songs to date. Sure, it's not all that experimental, but musically it serves as an incredibly important bridge between Children Of God and White Light. The song have a lot more structure to them and songs like Mona Lisa, Mother Earth come equipped with this almost middle-eastern flair to them that helps this project really come into its own. Overall, a fantastic listening experience ... read more

What it says on the tin. Previous songs of theirs cranked up to 11 and blasted into your ears by a fucked up and evil Gira. The aggressiveness is a much needed boost to these tracks as a lot of them are on some of their most dour and uninteresting projects and their live iterations give them that vitriol that they were desperately in need of, and overall it comes together to set the stage for the kind of chaos you should expect from a live Swans show.

"Okay guys. Hear me out. So, we all know tha- oh shit hey Jarboe what's up

The above piece of dialogue was sourced from my exhaustion listening to Cop, Greed and Holy Money back to back. I was worried that Children of God would be more of the same, but much like how angels came down from heaven to make everything better, Jarboe's influence on this project singlehandedly made it a masterclass record that would be the quintessential sound and feel of every album of theirs ... read more

"Okay guys. Hear me out. So, we all know that Greed was boring. It had a fantastic opener but the rest of the album was repetitive and lame and sleep-inducing and was carried by our live performances. So, what if we did the same thing... with EVEN MORE instruments... yeah..."

The above piece of dialogue was sourced from a very real conversation Michael Gira had during the creation of Holy Money. Honestly? This album is a respectable step up that really put that wedge into their ... read more

What a SURPRISINGLY good closer to the otherwise exhaustive Greed. In only three tracks, Swans showcase so much more versatility than between their debut Filth and the mediocre slogfest that was attached to this EP. Time Is Money (Bastard) is one of their best songs thus far with an infectious sound and Gira sounding more motivated than ever to tell the world that his boss needs to be violated and raped. Honestly? I respect Gira for making a universal retail worker anthem. Sealed In Skin is ... read more

"Okay guys. Hear me out. So, we all know that Cop sucked balls. It was boring and repetitive and lame and sleep-inducing and was carried by our live performances. So, what if we did the same thing... with ONE more instrument... yeah..."

The above piece of dialogue was sourced from a very real conversation Michael Gira had during the creation of Greed. Honestly? The little kick went surprisingly far in making the album stand out (at least on its opener).

While it is by no means a needle-moving record for the genre, Grace offers something unique in its biblical theming that is executed in a way no other post rock record does. In four relatively short songs (FOR THE GENRE), the project covers a wide amount of emotions from hope to bleakness and everything in between and has moments like Celebration that could genuinely contend with some of the greats of the genre. I would definitely recommend it to those who have grown familiar with the stylings ... read more

This album is one of the most unique concepts I've ever heard. It takes the "industrial/noise rock" genre that its predecessor held with great success, a genre known for the most memorable riffs, aggressive vocals and powerful moments across any genre ever...

...and it makes it really, really boring.

I'm sorry! There is just hardly anything of note! It starts out fairly strong and ends kind of alright, but 5 out the 8 tracks on here do not make me feel a thing. I ... read more

I used to love the first two tracks of this album as a kid. I had never gotten around to picking the full thing up afterwards because I got busy and a full Swans dive ended up getting shelved, but if you asked me to imagine Stay Here in my mind I could easily recall just how aggressive Gira and the backing instrumentation went. Now, listening to the full album, I honestly think Filth delivers a lot better than I thought it would. There are a few meager tracks like Blackout and Freak that manage ... read more

top 10 white girl banger oat i will not argue this

It has been quite a few years since Utopia first dropped. A friend and I stayed up til midnight for the first time ever just to listen to Utopia and we were freaking the fuck out. Travis hadn't released a proper project in ages prior, and as each song played we got more and more hyped. I used to be a massive Kanye fan and stuff like the old I Am A God demo being turned into MODERN JAM or hearing Carti's return to form on FE!N was insane, not even getting into the sheer excitement of ... read more

I went into this a bit worried that he wouldn't live up to the hype and, honestly? I think he did a really good job of making a comeback with as little silly shit as possible. The album is surprisingly consistent with only a few tracks I'm indifferent on with no tracks I think are bad like I did with The Big Day. What I will give it, and I know this might be a bit controversial, but these are the best first few tracks on a Chance project ever. Star Side Intro, No More Old Men and Ride ... read more

Every time I think I've mentally prepared myself for a Zach Hill project, he always finds some way to blow my mind. from the second the project starts to the very end the album not only refuses to let up but also doesn't shy away from its methods of assaulting my ears (IN A GOOD WAY). The run from Empty AM to Password Incest is some of the best and well-produced industrial electronic shit I think I've ever heard and while some of the earlier tracks really take some time before ... read more

I would appreciate this project more if it was plunderphonics and not just plunder. Every sample feels so lazily hashed together with a tiddlywink of reverb added, and it's not even crazy new interesting samples. Between Geese, Greep and Gid Cudi, every time I hear a sample I just can't help but wince as it loops over and over and over again with no interesting switch ups or differences. For as much as the Franz Ferdinand sample pissed me off, I can at least commend the track for ... read more