Swans – The Glowing Man

It is currently my least favor of run (Seer/Be Kind). It has the chanting, minimialism, the build up, and the ambiguous lyrics which go from a confessional with god and silly exchange at a convenience shop. What it does do, is the epic tension and release that the other records have. It is just isn't as dynamic. Maybe another listen or three will help me see the light.

First of all, what a brilliant fucking album. I in the initial reviews upon its release--which, I should say, were still all universally positive--it did kind of get the rub that it was a little too same-y against the earlier two entries in the trilogy, The Seer and To Be Kind. Even I felt a touch of this sentiment. It's a tough position to be in, the third record in a two-hour-apiece-plus trilogy.

What I have been so pleased to see because it mirrors my own feelings exactly, is that, now that the record is almost a decade old, there is a quite sweeping critical re-analysis of The Glowing Man ongoing, and it appears to be overwhelmingly gaining esteem and, for many listeners, indeed now considered the best in the trilogy.

One thing I love, love, love about the feel of TGM is the marked increase against the others in a sort of psychedelic mysticism, which corresponds with a slight dip in outward aggression and insanity--although it should be added, when this thing wants to get in your face it does so with no less overwhelming power than we find in the other trilogy entries. I've heard it postulated that, in the trilogy, The Seer is hell, To Be Kind earth, and TGM heaven. This seems to me a fantastic analysis and a good framework to consume the work.

TGM also deserves a ton of credit for containing perhaps the best riffs and grooves in the whole Swans discography. I adore how they finally "went punk" for a sizable section of the title track, which is no doubt my favorite section of music recorded by any band in 2016, bar none. The simple two-chord punk riff and tempo paired with those little tornadoes of "aaaaaaahhhhhh aaahhhhh" ecstasy kick so much ass it is obscene. We also see a wonderful cyclic riff the crescendo of Cloud of Forgetting. It goes without saying BOTH grooves the band settle into Cloud of Unknowing are sexy as fuck. That's one thing Swans don't get enough credit for... People attach all these adjectives to them like challenging, repetitive, angular, noisy, etc. What people often forget to mention is what pays your price of entry is the fact that Swans regularly break into luscious, sensual grooves. Gira has his finger on the pulse of propulsive, simple, body-moving, baby-making jams, which adds such complexity to what this band brings to the table.

Let's talk about the record. The mastering is absolutely sublime. Salt did a phenomenal job. I listened to the digital version of this album a TON before I ever got my hands on the vinyl. So believe me when I tell you that the dynamics and three-dimensionality of TGM appear nowhere like on the vinyl. I implore you that if you, like me, love this album to pieces, it is absolutely a record that must be consumed in its proper format. Buy the wax. unconventional music.

I truly believe this record's reputation will only continue to grow, and eventually it may be pretty universally regarded as the crown jewel of the Swans catalog.

Spend the money and get this. A necessary purchase if there ever was one.

What an amazing fucking record. The title track might be the best Swans song, period.

for some reason, my copy wasn't signed, it came with a slip of paper with the album cover on it that was signed even though I ordered it through young god

Like all of the modern era SWANS albums, it is amazing. It may be my favorite of the latter era discography.

I don’t love flipping the record mid-song, but this is such a well mastered record it almost makes up for it. I’m glad I finally got my hands on a copy.

Although it is a shame that Cloud of Unknowing and The Glowing Man had to be split up, I still think they split them in the best places possible. Other than that the records sound pretty decent overall

probably swans best album, shame the best tracks got ruined on this record :(

It is a big negative that the title track (which is the best track) is cut during that amazing heavy transition crescendo in the middle. and now the second part transition feels very off and forgettable because of that missing transition

same thing with cloud of unknowing they messed up the transition. i honestly regret buying the vinyl and should have went with the cd instead

i understand that it doesn't fit on one side. i just wished i don't have to flip sides during that point of amazing ritualistic moment of crescendo transition where i am getting the most musical high.
but the vinyl sounds ok on other tracks. they just messed up the 2 best tracks

Completely blown away by this pressing. This is truly one of the most well mastered recordings of all time. On top of the music itself being incredible, the technical aspects (production, mastering, etc.) are all top notch. People have brought up issues with the final track on the album being cut short, which is the case with my pressing as well, but otherwise this is a perfect pressing.