Birthing (Vinyl 3LP)

With seven songs sprawling across a whole three LPs, the new album from Swans is potentially the last, with Michael Gira warning Birthing may be "my final foray (as producer / impresario) into the all-consuming sound worlds that have been my obsession for years". But make no mistake, being 68 and hinting at the end doesn't mean Gira has lost any of his menace and mysticism. Deliciously evil. - Flying Out

"The material contained in this album was largely developed over the course a yearlong Swans tour, during 2023 - 2024 (The Healers, I Am a Tower, Birthing, Guardian Spirit, Rope, and Away), then recorded and further orchestrated and rearranged in the studio. Two pieces were created and performed in the studio (Red Yellow, The Merge).

In all cases the material began with me sitting in my office with an acoustic guitar, singing and dreaming about what would become of these skeletal songs. I'm blessed to have such a stellar group of musicians to work with live (listed below), and through improvisation, endless revisions and an intensity of focus in performance (not to mention endurance), over the course of time the music morphed into what you generally hear on this collection.   This album, coupled with the recent live release, Live Rope, constitutes my final foray (as producer / impresario) into the all-consuming sound worlds that have been my obsession for years. We'll do a final tour in this mode towards the end of 2025, then that's it.   After that, Swans will continue, so long as I'm able, but in a significantly pared down form. Hints of that direction can be found in a few moments on the current album. In the meantime, my hope is that the music provides a positive and fertile atmosphere in which to dream." - Michael Gira / Swans 

Tracklist:

1. The Healers
2. I Am a Tower
3. Birthing
4. Red Yellow
5. Guardian Spirit
6. The Merge
7. (Rope) Away