Swans
It’s Coming It’s Real
Young God/Mute/Inertia
Swans’ Michael Gira returns to the gothic Americana and gospel of his little known early 90s period on new single It’s Coming It’s Real. Lifted from upcoming album Leaving Meaning (out October 25) it’s the first taste of new music from Swans since Gira disbanded the acclaimed 2010-2017 era line up a couple of years back, making this next stage in the band’s evolution more of a solo project than ever.
The 2010-2017 phase may well be looked back upon as Swans’ golden era, bringing the experimental post punk and post rock band out of retirement and hurtling back into the public consciousness with modern day classic albums such as The Seer and To Be Kind. But based on this nearly eight-minute sample, the future also looks bright.
While the new record features an array of guest performers ranging Ben Frost to The Necks, It’s Coming It’s Real gets its gospel tinge care of Swedish sisters Anna and Maria von Hausswolff, whose choral backing vocals lift the sombre tune from folk noir to something far and away grander – to the point that when the outro urges us to “Reach out” to him, Gira once again takes us by the hand to that unique place, quite unlike any other; the one we simply call Swans.
HARVEY RAE
