thejessamber

This is what 42 years of torment have culminated in.

Swans’ seventeenth studio album is one that deals with parenthood, the fears that come with it, and the ever present question of frontman Michael Gira’s impending mortality.
More akin to earlier works such as Soundtracks for the Blind and the Trilogy when compared to this iteration’s previous efforts (Leaving Meaning and The Beggar), it feels like a true conclusion to what the band’s extensive history has been ... read more

Experimental, spacious, transcendental. One day we shall fade, slowly, gradually, but not without one last call into the depths. Beauty will prevail in a withering world, as all that once sung fades to nothing.

As a friend of Thom’s brother, I felt that any thoughts I had on this record would be overshadowed by some kind of personal bias, but I find myself truly, deeply enamoured by this project. I feel so strongly about it that the only thing preventing it from a perfect score is the ... read more

Jamie’s tongue is in my brain and they’re violating my every thought.

Emotionally on par with works like Swans’ Soundtracks for the Blind, in the way that it felt front to back like somebody had forced my head into a vice and was slowly tightening it. This album starts with some of the most accessible and enjoyable music Stewart has ever written, before following it with 7 more tracks that gradually eat away at your sanity, bringing you down to the pits of Hell from where he speaks.

This album is particularly close to my heart, as a non-binary person who ... read more