The Glowing Man
The Glowing Man | ||||
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Studio album by Swans | ||||
Released | June 17, 2016 (2016-06-17) | |||
Studio | Sonic Ranch (Tornillo, Texas) Elmwood Studios (Dallas, Texas) Studio Litho (Seattle, Washington) CandyBomber (Berlin) Micro-Moose (Berlin) Jen Turner's apartment (Brooklyn, New York) B.C. Studios (Brooklyn, New York) | |||
Genre |
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Length | 118:23 | |||
Language | English | |||
Label |
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Producer | Michael Gira | |||
Swans chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Glowing Man | ||||
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The Glowing Man is the fourteenth studio album by American experimental rock band Swans, released on June 17, 2016 on Young God and Mute.[7][8] It is considered the third and final part of a three-album "trilogy", the other two parts being The Seer and To Be Kind.
Background
The song "The World Looks Red/The World Looks Black" contains lyrics written by frontman Michael Gira that were used in the Sonic Youth song "The World Looks Red" in 1983; the music is new, with no relation to the earlier version.[8] Swans and Sonic Youth both developed in the early 1980s post-punk/no wave scene of New York City, and Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore was an early member of Swans appearing on the live album Body to Body, Job to Job (recorded 1982–85, released 1991). The title track for The Glowing Man has previously been referred to as "Black Hole Man"[9] and "Black-Eyed Man" and includes a section of "Bring the Sun / Toussaint L'Ouverture" from the 2014 album To Be Kind. The song "When Will I Return?" was uploaded to YouTube on May 27, 2016.[10]
Prior to its appearance on The Glowing Man, "Frankie M." was part of Swans' live sets as early as 2014, its length and arrangements differing each time it was performed.
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7.7/10[11] |
Metacritic | 81/100[12] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The A.V. Club | B+[13] |
Consequence of Sound | B+[2] |
Financial Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Mojo | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Pitchfork | 8.1/10[15] |
Record Collector | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Spin | 8/10[18] |
Uncut | 8/10[19] |
The Glowing Man was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 81, based on 22 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Writing for Exclaim!, Griffin J. Elliot called the album "a meticulous exercise in the band's streamlining their abstract sound, taking what they've done before and playing it under a newer, grander spotlight."[20] Saby Reyes-Kulkarni wrote for Pitchfork, "The love in [Gira's] music is as terrible as it is beautiful, a wrenching act of spiritual determination. Swans make this sound effortless, though, in a fitting end to a remarkable chapter of their career."[15] Paul Simpson of AllMusic gave the album four out of five stars, describing the album as "another exhilarating portal into the unknown."[1] Louis Pattison, writing for Uncut, claimed the album is "gesturing towards something more contemplative" and is "certainly weathered by the journey."[21]
In a more mixed review, Rolling Stone's Christopher R. Weingarten stated that "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."[22]
Several music criticism websites included The Glowing Man on their lists of the best albums of 2016. Rockdelux ranked the album at twelfth in their top international albums of the year.[citation needed] Sputnikmusic ranked it at thirty-eighth, with staff member Raul Stanciu writing that "[The Glowing Man] takes an important step forward for Swans, thus deserving its place as another significant achievement in their discography."[23] The Quietus placed the album at eighty-seventh on their list, with writer Lior Phillips writing "the instrumentalists ripple out in meditative layers, never covering over or distracting from it, but rather reinforcing."[24]
Accolades
Publication | Accolade | Year | Rank |
---|---|---|---|
The Quietus | Albums of the Year 2016 | 2016 | 87[25] |
Sputnikmusic | Staff’s Top 50 Albums of 2016 | 2016 | 38[26] |
Uncut | Top Albums of 2016 | 2016 | 46[citation needed] |
Rolling Stone (Germany) | Top Albums of 2016 | 2016 | 16[citation needed] |
Rockdelux | Top International Albums of 2016 | 2016 | 12[citation needed] |
Rockerilla | Top Albums of 2016 | 2016 | 14[27] |
Track listing
All music is composed by Michael Gira, Norman Westberg, Christopher Pravdica, Christoph Hahn, Thor Harris and Phil Puleo, except where noted
No. | Title | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Cloud of Forgetting" | 12:43 | |
2. | "Cloud of Unknowing" | 25:12 | |
3. | "The World Looks Red / The World Looks Black" | Michael Gira | 14:27 |
4. | "People Like Us" | Michael Gira | 4:32 |
Total length: | 56:54 |
No. | Title | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Frankie M." | 20:58 | |
2. | "When Will I Return?" | Michael Gira | 5:26 |
3. | "The Glowing Man" | 28:50 | |
4. | "Finally, Peace." | Michael Gira | 6:15 |
Total length: | 61:29 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Cloud of Forgetting" | 12:43 |
2. | "Cloud of Unknowing" (Part 1) | 6:04 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Cloud of Unknowing" (Part 2) | 19:48 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "The World Looks Red / The World Looks Black" | 14:27 |
2. | "People Like Us" | 4:32 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Frankie M." | 20:58 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "When Will I Return?" | 5:26 |
2. | "The Glowing Man" (Part 1) | 15:02 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "The Glowing Man" (Part 2) | 13:55 |
2. | "Finally, Peace." | 6:15 |
Personnel
Adapted from the official Young God Records website:[8]
Swans
- Michael Gira – vocals, electric and acoustic guitar
- Kristof Hahn – lap steel guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals
- Thor Harris – percussion, vibes and bells, hammered dulcimer
- Christopher Pravdica – bass guitar, vocals
- Phil Puleo – drums, hammered dulcimer, vocals
- Norman Westberg – electric guitar, vocals
- Bill Rieflin – drums, piano, synth, Mellotron, bass guitar, electric guitar, vocals (credited as "Hitman and 7th Swan")
Guests
- Jennifer Gira – lead vocals on "When Will I Return?"
- Okkyung Lee – cello on "Cloud of Unknowing"
- Bach Norwood – double bass
- Kaela Sinclair – backing vocals
- Katrina Cain – backing vocals
- Buffi Jacobs – cello
- Daniel Hart – violin
- Gerald Jones – mandolin, banjo
- Stuart Mack – trumpet
- Joakim Toftgaard – trombone
- Rachel Woolf – flute
Charts
Chart (2016) | Peak position |
---|---|
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[28] | 24 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[29] | 39 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[30] | 69 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[31] | 49 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[32] | 29 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[33] | 54 |
UK Albums (OCC)[34] | 61 |
US Billboard 200[35] | 151 |
References
- ^ a b c d e Simpson, Paul. "The Glowing Man – Swans". AllMusic. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
- ^ a b Barry, Sean (June 17, 2016). "Swans – The Glowing Man". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
- ^ a b Segal, Victoria (July 2016). "Swans: The Glowing Man". Mojo (272): 92. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
- ^ "Swans – The Glowing Man". Spectrum Culture.
- ^ "Swans – The Glowing Man". The Line of Best Fit.
- ^ "Swans – The Glowing Man". Pretty Much Amazing.
- ^ Camp, Zoe (April 5, 2016). "Swans Announce New Album The Glowing Man, Share Title Track: Listen". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- ^ a b c "The Glowing Man (preorder)". Young God Records. April 5, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- ^ "Swans Live Review @ Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn Vegan". Retrieved June 15, 2016.
- ^ SWANS (May 27, 2016). "When Will I Return". Retrieved June 15, 2016 – via YouTube.
- ^ "The Glowing Man by Swans reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
- ^ "Reviews for The Glowing Man by Swans". Metacritic. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
- ^ Warwick, Kevin (June 17, 2016). "With The Glowing Man, Michael Gira caps off Swans' golden age of exploration". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
- ^ Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (June 24, 2016). "Swans: The Glowing Man — review". Financial Times. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
- ^ a b Reyes-Kulkarni, Saby (June 21, 2016). "Swans: The Glowing Man". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
- ^ Hamnett, Alun (July 2016). "Swans – The Glowing Man". Record Collector (455). Retrieved November 23, 2017.
- ^ Weingarten, Christopher R. (July 11, 2016). "The Glowing Man". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
- ^ Camp, Zoe (June 21, 2016). "Review: Swans' Actual Swan Song Is a Cloud of Unknowing on 'The Glowing Man'". Spin. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
- ^ Pattison, Louis (July 6, 2016). "Swans – The Glowing Man". Uncut. Archived from the original on July 7, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
- ^ Elliot, Griffin J. (June 16, 2016). "Swans: The Glowing Man". Exclaim!. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
- ^ Pattison, Louis (July 6, 2016). "Swans – The Glowing Man". Uncut. Archived from the original on July 7, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
- ^ Weingarten, Christopher R. (July 11, 2016). "The Glowing Man". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
- ^ "Sputnikmusic – Staff's Top 50 Albums of 2016: 50 – 31 « Staff Blog". Retrieved February 20, 2019.
- ^ "The Quietus Albums of the Year 2016". The Quietus. December 6, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
- ^ "The Quietus Albums of the Year 2016". The Quietus. December 6, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
- ^ "Sputnikmusic – Staff's Top 50 Albums of 2016: 50 – 31 « Staff Blog". Retrieved February 20, 2019.
- ^ "Rocklist.net...Rockerilla End Of Year Lists..." www.rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Swans – The Glowing Man" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Swans – The Glowing Man" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Swans – The Glowing Man" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Swans – The Glowing Man" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Swans – The Glowing Man" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Swans – The Glowing Man". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
- ^ "Swans Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
External links
- Young God Records official website
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- Filth
- Cop
- Greed
- Holy Money
- Children of God
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- White Light from the Mouth of Infinity
- Love of Life
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- Soundtracks for the Blind
- My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky
- The Seer
- To Be Kind
- The Glowing Man
- Leaving Meaning
- The Beggar
- I Am Not Insane
- We Rose from Your Bed with the Sun in Our Head
- Not Here / Not Now
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- Is There Really a Mind?
- Public Castration Is a Good Idea
- Feel Good Now
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- Discography
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