Swans: Screen Shot
Concluding my focus on the Top 10 albums of 2014, coming in at #1 is To Be Kind by Swans. Counting down my top 10 albums of this year has been an enjoyable excursion into music from a decade ago, but the previous 9 albums seem inconsequential now that I have landed at #1. Swans had been around for over 30 years when they released their thirteenth album in 2014, and it is the only true masterwork of that year. After starting out in the early ‘80s as an experimental noise band featuring no-wave pioneer Michael Gira on guitar, the band spent a little over ten years perfecting their experimental songwriting vision before disbanding in 1996. When they returned to the studio to release My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky in 2010, it was clear that Gira had a new vision. The album was a wonder, surprising their old fans and critics with a modern take on the noise and experimental music they had perfected in the ‘80s. This was followed up in 2012 with The Seer, which further advanced their compositions into a new realm of sonic landscapes. The success of both of those albums was immense, especially with critics, but neither of them prepared their fans for their 2014 masterpiece To Be Kind. Clocking in at over two hours, this album is a masterclass in experimental music but is also one of their most accessible releases. This accessibility was shown by the album hitting the Top 40 Billboard albums chart (a virtually impossible feat for a band of this type), while also pulling in accolades from critics who had previously dismissed Gira’s work. While difficult to digest in one sitting, it is not impossible if one has the time to devote to such an endeavor. Every track is breathtaking, and the entire collection of songs presents modern versions of avant-garde and experimental music styles from across the 20th century. The phrases avant-garde and experimental are often enough to dissuade most people from listening to a record, but this is an example where it should draw those people in so they can understand the importance of this type of music within the overall spectrum of recordings, and all within a framework that is embracing instead of off-putting. In the world of experimental noise and avant-garde rock, this album represents the culmination of decades of hard work by bands including Swans, Sonic Youth, Butthole Surfers, The Melvins, and thousands of others who never escaped the small local clubs of college towns.
To learn more about Swans, check out their Wikipedia page.
To listen to all of the songs of the day, check out the Radio Faux Show Song of the Day playlist.
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