Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky (Album Review)

 

Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky

(2010)

My copy: reissue by Young God Records

Released after a 14 year long hiatus from new music, My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky launched Swans into their new and powerful sound. Sitting at nearly 45 minutes, it is a perfectly digestible entry point into the world of modern Swans. There is almost no time wasted on this record, and I was surprised at how quickly the album seemed to go by on my relisten.

“No Words/No Thoughts” starts with clamoring bells, so as to signify a rebirth for Michael Gira and his music. The bells give way to heavy guitars, bass and drums as they churn and swirl around Gira’s beckoning voice. Horns hiss, strings moan and the drums snap with rolls that lead up to nasty breakdowns. The bass oozes and props everything up perfectly, and new elements are added each time the song rounds the corner toward another instrumental plunge. 

“Reeling The Liars In” is an almost twangy acoustic track that is darkly contrasted by its lyrical content. There is an ever so slight southern element with acoustic guitar and Gira’s low, commanding vocal performances. “Reeling The Liars In” introduces powerful vocal harmonies that remind us that Gira is a clever musician, and that a lot of these songs do have pop qualities.

“Jim” is a sauntering and mysterious groove featuring keys and vibraphone. I am not a fan of the vibraphone as it almost always makes music feel more childish but it is mixed well here. The vocal harmonies ring out as if they were foretelling the apocalypse before the track gives Gira space to whisper in our ears. These songs are varied and instrumentally lush but also insanely dense and heavy when they need to be. 

“My Birth” is a low point, but not a bad track by any means: it is a repetitive and explosive interlude of sorts with an unhinged vocal performance. “You Fucking People Make Me Sick” is a devilish lullaby featuring guest vocals from Devendra Banhart and a child relative of Gira’s before shutting everything down to be replaced by the sinister bellows of horns and growling percussion. This album is like being charmed by a demon, darkness looms at every melody but there is a flowing charisma to Gira’s sometimes disturbing words. 

“Inside Madeline” jams and flows for a while before shimmering guitars open the song up for instruments to breathe and sigh like a wounded animal spitting up blood around Gira’s crooning. “Eden Prison” is a dystopian march through hell with powerful crescendos that would make Glenn Branca blush. “Little Mouth” closes the album with strange vocal sounds giving way to such an oddly soothing and cathartic track. The album ends with solo vocals from Gira as he sends his words into the void. This is an amazing return that only broadens the horizons of prior Swans material. There are new, theatrical takes on songwriting and expression that not only work well for Gira, but lift the album up to new heights. 

The core issues are perhaps the sometimes repetitive nature of some songs, and sometimes the wide array of instrumentation can feel superfluous. The production feels more live, and this is something that is definitely patched up on later records such as To Be Kind. On its own, My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky is a spectacular birth to a new generation of Swans, and it is far easier to swallow than the sprawling later albums that require multiple meals.