Review: “To Be Kind” — The album you missed this summer
There was an album I wanted to review last semester. Unfortunately, it was released one week after finals. Of course I still listened to it. Months have passed and I still consider it one of the best albums of the year. Did you hear it?
Swans’ 13th album, “To Be Kind,” is two hours of pure confusion. Droning, heartless, bizarre, dynamic perfection. Swans have a long history of making listeners feel uncomfortable. The new album glorifies the feeling of discomfort and pokes fun at all things normal, natural and joyful.
Michael Gira sings about topics like love and freedom amid raucous, doomsday musical accompaniment. He doesn’t even “sing about” these topics as much as he just shouts out the actual words repeatedly. “Love is free! Love is strong!” “Freedom!” “Forever beautiful!” “Hallelujah!” “Love! Now!” All of the sudden these normal, positive phrases turn into something big and scary. Thank you, Swans.
“To Be Kind” sounds like a score for a psychedelic sci-fi horror film about ancient civilizations praying to mysterious alien-gods to help them build pyramids and make
human sacrifices on top of them. The overall imagery of the music of To Be Kind is a dark, blockbuster, cinematic layout of sound. The build-up on some of these tracks are strictly for patient listeners (“Bring the Sun”/”Toussaint L’Ouverture”) while some provide non-stop energy (“Oxygen”).
Lead singer Michael Gira is 57 years old. His vocal delivery on this album is the zaniest thing I’ve ever heard. He heartlessly yells demands. He moans cultist chants. He screams like his eyes are being torn out. He wails like a baby in a tantrum. He imitates southern blues vocal styling. Occasionally, he actually just sounds like an old dude muttering into a microphone. The variety is quite refreshing. The fact that he does all of the above- all of the above- proves his uniquely insane personality.
The work from the rest of the band don’t disappoint, either. Swans’ guitars have never sounded so consistently bright and refined. Combined with the screeching synthesizers on “A Little God In My Hands,” they turn a cheeky southern funk jam into chainsaws vomiting in outer space. The drums on the album-opener, “Screen Shot,” make for an impressive, eight-minute workout. The surprise brass section on “Oxygen” is full of power. The strings on “Some Things We Do” are heartbreaking.
This album is jacked up. Yet, there are subtle moments of joy: the “bum-bum” vocals on “A Little God in My Hands,” Gira’s little boy impression and the assorted blues guitars on “Just a Little Boy,” the vibraphone part on “Kirsten Supine,” the never-ending ending of album-closer “To Be Kind.” As draining and dismal as this double album may be, it’s good to know they’re having fun in there.
Some fans are probably asking themselves if this is the band’s best work. It seems like a sequel release to 2012’s “The Seer.” Some sounds on “To Be Kind” are reminiscent of 1996’s “Soundtracks for the Blind.” This is another world entirely from their 80s releases. This album is arguably their best.
Despite the excellent production on “To Be Kind,” I don’t believe Swans tried to get ahead of “the game” with this album. They’re creating a game of their own. While the rest of the music world is trying to one-up each other, Swans is more focused on becoming a monster.
— Scott Hall is studying stage management at Utah State and has worked for the Statesman for one semester. His spare time is dedicated to to music. Please send comments to scottehall3@gmail.com.