Swans (band)#Musical style and legacy

File:Gira (2012-09-19 by Ian T. McFarland).jpg Michael Gira, here shown performing in Kansas City, Missouri in September 2012.]]

Michael Gira has repeatedly stated he took the moniker Swans as it best described the sound he wanted.{{cite web |url=http://www.flowersinagun.com/interview-with-michael-gira-from-swans/ |title=Interview with Michael Gira from Swans |access-date=May 5, 2015 |work=Flowers in a Gun |date=January 21, 2013 |archive-date=November 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141115080337/http://www.flowersinagun.com/interview-with-michael-gira-from-swans/ |url-status=live }} Gira's summation of the name follows along the lines of: "Swans are majestic, beautiful looking creatures. With really ugly temperaments."

The earliest known lineup of Swans comprised Gira on bass guitar and vocals, Jonathan Kane on drums, Sue Hanel on guitar, Mojo on percussion and tape loops and Thurston Moore, Dan Braun or Jonathan Tessler on the second bass guitar.{{cite web |last=Jurek |first=Thom |title=Swans Bio |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/swans-mn0000034988/biography |access-date=February 4, 2020 |work=AllMusic |archive-date=July 23, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723220714/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/swans-mn0000034988/biography |url-status=live }}{{cite journal |last=Carden |first=Andrew |date=January 3, 2002 |title=Jonathan Kane and Swans |journal=Mojo |url=https://younggodrecords.com/blogs/press/13026405-jonathan-kane-and-swans |access-date=January 1, 2019}} Tessler also played metal percussion and tape loops in another variation of the line-up with Gira on bass, Moore on guitar, and Kane on drums. Hanel's only recordings with the group are on the compilation Body to Body, Job to Job, but the ambiguous personnel credits do not make it clear on which songs she performed. Kane stated that "Sue was the most fearsome guitarist we'd ever heard in New York. She was unbelievable."

Hanel did not stay long in the group, and by the time of their recording debut she had been replaced by Bob Pezzola.{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/non_fictionreviews/3670741/Nobody-knows-No-Wave.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/non_fictionreviews/3670741/Nobody-knows-No-Wave.html |archive-date=January 12, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Nobody Knows No Wave – Telegraph |last=Culkin |first=Jessamy |date=January 28, 2008 |work=telegraph.co.uk |access-date=February 20, 2013}}{{cbignore}}{{cite book |last=Browne |first=David |date=June 2, 2009 |title=Goodbye 20th Century: A Biography of Sonic Youth |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=978-0306816031}} This lineup of the group also featured saxophonist Daniel Galli-Duani, who had previously played with Kane as the avant-garde duo Transmission. The debut EP, Swans, released on Labor, is markedly different from anything they would do later. However, the minimal chord structures owe more to blues, while the jazz instrumentation and awkward time signatures are evidence of Swans' roots in the no wave scene of the late 1970s, which had more or less collapsed by the release of 1984's Cop.

Kane compares Swans to blues icon Chester Burnett, a.k.a. Howlin' Wolf.{{cite web |url={{AllMusic|album|greed-mw0001883300#review|pure_url=yes}} |title=Greed – Swans |last=Raggett |first=Ned |work=AllMusic |access-date=September 21, 2024}} Some similarities worth noting—the music of early Swans was often based on a single riff, played repeatedly to hypnotic effect. Some of Burnett's songs—especially the songs penned by Burnett himself—have a similar structure and quality. Their early music was typified by slow and grinding guitar noise, and pounding drums, punctuated by Gira's morbid and violent lyrics (inspired by Jean Genet and Marquis de Sade), usually barked or shouted. Critics have described Swans' early recordings as "aggressive beyond words".

Their first full-length release, Filth (1983), featured driving, choppy rhythms and abrasive drums.{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/filth-mw0000691039#review |title=Filth – Swans |last=Raggett |first=Ned |work=AllMusic |access-date=September 21, 2024 |archive-date=August 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811200847/https://www.allmusic.com/album/filth-mw0000691039#review |url-status=live }} The whole is reminiscent of earlier no wave bands, such as Mars, and the work of Swans' contemporaries, like Sonic Youth's Confusion Is Sex and Kill Yr Idols; but critic Ned Raggett contends that "early Swans really is like little else on the planet before or since". Filth was the first album to feature guitarist Norman Westberg, who would play a vital role in much of Swans' music and would feature on every subsequent studio album apart from Love of Life.

Cop (1984) and the originally untitled Young God EP were both released in 1984 and re-released together on CD in 1992.{{cite web |url=http://www.swans.pair.com/DISCOGRAPHY/young.html |title=Swans | Discography | Young God EP |work=swans.pair.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204170843/http://www.swans.pair.com/DISCOGRAPHY/young.html |access-date=February 21, 2013|archive-date=February 4, 2012 }} Young God has been known by several names, usually by one of its two A-sides, such as "I Crawled" or, notoriously, as "Raping a Slave". This release is often confused with their self-titled debut. The music continues in the same vein as Filth, and is again vaguely reminiscent of heavy metal music played in extreme slow motion.{{cite web |url={{AllMusic|album|cop-mw0000954565#review|pure_url=yes}} |title=Cop – Swans |last=Raggett |first=Ned |work=AllMusic |access-date=September 21, 2024}} Swans were, in this era, Gira on vocals, Westberg on guitar, Harry Crosby on bass guitar and Roli Mosimann on drums. Gira's vocals had changed slightly, becoming slowly more melodic, although the snarl still remained. Some of the songs on the EP, particularly "Young God" and "I Crawled", have an actual vocal melody, if rudimentary, hinting at the sounds of future releases.

Godflesh frontman Justin Broadrick shared this impression of the group:

{{cquote|The Slave EP was a sound that I always wanted to hear, just the bleakest and blackest. The minimalist approach of the music, that was what really influenced me. It was non-genre-specific, with a total lack of baggage... purely abstract, surreal, and violent. It communicated to me in a very special way, and taught me that heavy metal could be stripped of everything and reduced to its most primal form. ... Swans ... paved the way for me.{{cite web |url=http://www.metrospirit.com/index.php?ShowArticle_ID=11012410074046204&cat=1993101070588705 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210144406/http://www.metrospirit.com/index.php?ShowArticle_ID=11012410074046204&cat=1993101070588705 |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 February 2009 |title=Justin Broadrick: Existing through risk |author=Ruffin, Josh |date=2007-10-23 |website=Metrospirit.com |access-date=2008-09-19 |df=dmy-all }}}}

One of the trademarks of Swans' early period was playing at painfully loud volumes during concerts, sometimes leading to police stopping shows. Gira was also notably confrontational with the audience, such as stepping on people's fingers resting on the stage, pulling people's hair and, notably, physically assaulting anyone caught in the crowd headbanging, something Gira detested.{{cite journal|last=Moynihan|first=Michael|year=1996|title=Seconds interview|url=http://swans.pair.com/PRESS/int_sec.html|journal=Seconds|access-date=February 20, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150602061923/http://swans.pair.com/PRESS/int_sec.html|archive-date=June 2, 2015}} This lent a reputation to the name Swans which was one of the contributing factors in Gira's retirement of the band in 1997.{{cite journal |last=Mamone |first=Jordon N. |date=May 1997 |title=The Final Sacrifice |journal=CMJ |url=http://swans.pair.com/PRESS/art_CMJ.html |access-date=February 20, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121128143042/http://swans.pair.com/PRESS/art_CMJ.html |archive-date=November 28, 2012 }}

Since Swans' re-formation, Gira has made a point of maintaining the intensity of their live show, stating that it is at once "soul-uplifting and body-destroying". He has also sometimes turned off the air conditioning before Swans performed and compared the experience to a Native American sweat lodge.{{cite web|url=http://crasierfrane.com/interviews/michael-gira|title=Michael Gira |date=October 20, 2010 |work=Crasier Frane |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110110212348/http://crasierfrane.com/interviews/michael-gira|archive-date=January 10, 2011}}

1986's Greed was not as brutal or noisy as Swans' previous releases, while still being an extremely ominous and dark record. It also saw two new and significant musicians join the group. New bassist Algis Kizys would become a long-time, near-constant member, as would new vocalist/keyboardist Jarboe (who had joined the band a month before the release of the 1985 "Time Is Money (Bastard)" 12-inch, on which she had been credited simply with "scream").

Greed was followed by its "twin" album, Holy Money, the first to feature Jarboe contributing lead vocals (on "You Need Me"). Her presence began a slow thawing in the overt brutality and energy of Swans' early work, while Holy Money was also the first album by the group to incorporate acoustic elements: in particular, the eight-minute dirge "Another You", which starts with a bluesy harmonica introduction. It also marks the introduction of religious themes in Swans records with the sacrificial ode "A Hanging", complete with gospel-like backing vocals from Jarboe. (Jarboe would also sing lead on "Blackmail", a B-side from the A Screw 12". Both tracks appeared on the original CD version of Holy Money and the Greed/Holy Money compilation, while a minimal version of the latter also appears on Children of God.)

Children of God (1987) further expanded Jarboe's role, acting as a foil to Michael Gira's tales of suffering, torture and humiliation. The stories portrayed here, however, are ever the more unusual, given their juxtaposition—and admixture—with religious imagery. The intention was neither to mock nor embrace religion, but experiment with the power inherent in its messages and the hypocrisy of many of its leaders.{{cite web |url=http://www.webinfo.co.uk/crackedmachine/swans.htm |title=Swans |work=webinfo.co.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030304044336/http://www.webinfo.co.uk/crackedmachine/swans.htm |archive-date=March 4, 2003 |access-date=February 20, 2013}}

Some songs, such as "Beautiful Child", retain the vocal style of earlier days, but many are quite tame. The almost baroque "In My Garden", for example, added an extra dimension with piano (used before on "Fool" and "Sealed in Skin" to far grimmer effect) and acoustic guitar. In between the two poles, there are pieces like "Sex, God, Sex" (heavy metal-like bass riffs with blues and gospel-inspired singing), "Blood and Honey" (a murder ballad with early post-rock tendencies) and "Blind Love" (a lengthy song, alternating between intoned vocals and violent instrumental passages). Gira considers this to be the band's major turning point, saying by 1986/7 Swans "had run its course with the physical assault of sound that they had employed previously for the most part. I wanted to move on to other things and didn't want to get stuck in some style, which in our case had the potential of becoming cartoonish if we'd continued in that direction.{{Cite web|title=Children of God (2020 Remaster), by SWANS|url=https://swans.bandcamp.com/album/children-of-god-2020-remaster|access-date=2021-05-01|website=SWANS|author=Michael Gira}}

After the Children of God album, Gira professed himself tired with the band's fearsome reputation for noise, feeling that their audience now had expectations that he had no intention of fulfilling. He made a conscious decision to tone down the band's sound, introducing more acoustic elements and increasingly emphasizing Jarboe as a singer. The first results of this shift in direction were the two records recorded by Gira and Jarboe under the names Skin (in Europe) and World of Skin (in the US). The first, Blood, Women, Roses, featured Jarboe on lead vocals, and the second, Shame, Humility, Revenge, featured Gira on lead vocals. Both were recorded together in 1987, although Shame, Humility, Revenge was not released until 1988. These albums are full of slow, ethereal, melancholy, dirge-like songs, sounding like stripped-down acoustic versions of the Children of God songs.

The band continued this transformation with an unexpected cover of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart", which was released as a single in 1988 on Product Inc. in a confusing array of 7" and 12" inch formats. Both Gira and Jarboe sang lead vocals on different versions of the song. In later years Gira dismissed this release as a mistake, and for a long time refused to reissue his own vocal version, although Jarboe's version was re-released much sooner. However their version of the song was a hit on US college radio in 1988, which led to the group being offered a major label deal at Uni/MCA. "I'd worked so hard all my life", said Gira. "At 15, I was digging ditches in the desert in Israel, and I put myself through college painting houses. I never saw any money from any of our records. So by the time I finally got that carrot dangled in front of me, it was like, 'at last, I can make a living at what I love to do.'"{{cite journal|last=Perry|first=Andrew|date=March 2011|title=Swans|url=http://www.mojo4music.com/1945/mojo-issue-208-march-2011/|issue=208|page=56|journal=Mojo}}

This single was followed by The Burning World (1989), Swans' first and only major label album. Released on Uni/MCA Records, the record was produced by Bill Laswell and expanded the acoustic palette introduced on Greed and Children of God. For this album, the core line-up of Michael Gira, Jarboe and Westberg was augmented by session musicians, and the distinctive heavy guitar element of their earlier work was toned down significantly in favor of folk and world music elements. Though Swans would later explore more acoustic music with similar moods, Gira has stated that, while he admires much of Laswell's work, his efforts with Swans were simply a mismatch. The album reportedly sold 5000 copies in the UK, one of the lowest numbers in the history of MCA Records, and was soon deleted from MCA's catalogue.

The Burning World was the first Swans album to feature more conventional pop melodies. Gira's lyrics still favored themes of depression, death, greed and despair, but were actually sung, rather than the chanting or shouting typical of earlier material. They even covered Steve Winwood's popular Blind Faith hit "Can't Find My Way Home", one of two singles from the LP.

In 1990, Gira and Jarboe released the third and final World of Skin album, Ten Songs for Another World. It was less successful than the previous two Skin albums.

Gira's disillusionment with their Uni/MCA exploits led to White Light from the Mouth of Infinity (1991), a successful blending of earlier hard rock and later pop styles. Produced by Gira, the album blended acoustic rock, blues and hypnotic guitar noise successfully, resulting in an album more complex than anything they had released in the past. This album was followed by Love of Life (recorded by Martin Bisi in 1992), the EP single Love of Life/Amnesia, taking the group even farther into experimentation, and then The Great Annihilator (1995), considered to be one of the band's most accessible releases, possibly through being their most straightforward. The songwriting style and musical approach, however, would take a more unusual turn the following year.

File:Swans live.png in May 2011. From left to right: Thor Harris, Christoph Hahn, Phil Puleo (behind drum set), Gira, Chris Pravdica and Norman Westberg.]]

With other projects occupying his time, Gira decided to end the group with one last studio album and a world tour. Soundtracks for the Blind (1996) was a two-disc album featuring Jarboe-supplied field recordings, experimental music, dark ambient soundscapes, post-industrial epics, post-rock suites and acoustic guitar. In 1998, Swans Are Dead was released, consisting of live recordings from their 1995 and 1997 tours. In an interview, Gira revealed that there is more live material that may be released in the future. He described these unreleased recordings as "fairly spectacular".{{cite web |url=http://www.soundsect.com/feature.php?id=12 |title=soundsect.com : Feature |last=Gilbert |first=Tom |date=October 12, 2007 |work=soundsect.com |access-date=February 20, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716112208/http://www.soundsect.com/feature.php?id=12 |archive-date=July 16, 2011 }}

After dissolving Swans, Gira formed Angels of Light, continued his work with Young God Records and Jarboe continued her solo work.

In January 2010, Swans' re-formation was heralded with a new song posted on the Young God Records' MySpace, and officially confirmed by a post on the Young God Records Facebook and MySpace accounts.{{cite web|url=http://www.facebook.com/mgira#/notes/young-god-records/coming-soon-new-swans-album-and-tours/245702146147 |title=Facebook: Coming Soon New Swans Album and Tour |access-date=November 1, 2010 |work=Facebook.com}} Gira decided to bring back Swans during an Angels of Light show five years prior. In the middle of performing the song The Provider onstage utilizing "large chords that were very sustained and swaying, in this sort of slave-ship rhythm," he felt "a nascent urge right then to re-form or reinvigorate Swans because I remembered how elevating and intense that experience was".{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/11/01/swans-way-sasha-frere-jones|title=Swans Way|last=Frere-Jones|first=Sasha|date=November 1, 2010|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=January 8, 2017|archive-date=January 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170109021242/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/11/01/swans-way-sasha-frere-jones|url-status=live}} To help raise money for the upcoming new Swans album, Gira released a new solo album, I Am Not Insane, via his Young God Records website.{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/notes/young-god-records/coming-soon-new-swans-album-and-tours/245702146147|title=Coming Soon, New Swans Album and Tour(s)|date=January 9, 2010|work=Facebook|access-date=February 20, 2013}} LAS Magazine posted an article entitled "Kickstart My Art" on alternative financing in "a cash-strapped music industry, unable to rely on record label financing, [that] is positioning its own quid pro quo: fan dollars to fund projects in exchange for exclusive material and a sense of involvement" that cites Swans selling out of the 1,000 signed and numbered copies of I Am Not Insane as an example of reverse financing where proceeds from one project are rolled over to finance the next.{{cite web|url=http://www.lostatsea.net/feature.phtml?fid=19012940184b602520166ab|title=LAS Magazine|work=lostatsea.net|access-date=February 20, 2013|archive-date=November 27, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127013306/http://lostatsea.net/feature.phtml?fid=19012940184b602520166ab|url-status=live}}

File:OFF Festival 2012 Swans.jpg 2012]]

Swans then went on a series of U.S. and European tour dates,{{cite web|url=http://www.prefixmag.com/news/reunited-swans-announce-fall-tour/40367/|title=Reunited Swans Announce Fall Tour|last=Winistorfer|first=Andrew|date=May 11, 2010|work=prefixmag.com|access-date=February 20, 2013}} and headlined the Supersonic Festival in Birmingham, England in October 2010. The first post-reformation Swans album, My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky, was released on September 23, 2010, and the band simultaneously embarked on an eighteen-month world tour. The band were chosen by Portishead to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties I'll Be Your Mirror festivals that Portishead curated in July 2011 at London's Alexandra Palace, and, in September 2011, in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

In 2012 Swans released the live album We Rose from Your Bed with the Sun in Our Head, featuring material culled from their 2010–2011 tour, in support of production and recording costs for their forthcoming record, The Seer.{{cite web |url=https://younggodrecords.com/collections/frontpage/products/swans-we-rose-from-your-bed-with-the-sun-in-our-head-handmade-live-2cd-sold-out |title=Swans – We Rose from Your Bed with the Sun in Our Head (Handmade Live 2CD) Sold Out! – Swans |work=younggodrecords.com |access-date=February 20, 2013}} Initially released as a limited handmade edition of 1000 copies, We Rose... was re-released in May 2012 as a deluxe digipak.{{cite web |url=https://younggodrecords.com/collections/frontpage/products/we-rose-from-your-bed-with-the-sun-in-our-head |title=Swans: We Rose from Your Bed with the Sun in Our Head 2xDigipack CD – Swans |work=younggodrecords.com |access-date=January 1, 2019 }}

On July 15, 2013, Gira announced a new, handmade live album in the vein of I Am Not Insane and We Rose..., titled Not Here / Not Now. The album was announced for sale on October 14, with the proceeds helping to fund the recording of the new Swans studio album with John Congleton, announced in 2014 as To Be Kind.{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10152067807436978&id=13879391977|title=Swans – title of new swans live cd/dvd will be: NOT... | Facebook|publisher=facebook.com|access-date=July 12, 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://consequence.net/2013/06/swans-announce-plans-for-new-album/|title=Swans announce plans for new album | Consequence of Sound|date=June 3, 2013|publisher=consequence.net|access-date=July 12, 2014}}

In 2014 the band announced that it signed with Mute Records for the world outside North America and that the band would be touring. That same year, in November, the band curated a three-day program at Le Guess Who? in Utrecht, The Netherlands, including Wire, Silver Apples, Ben Frost, Prurient and Words to the Blind, a project by Savages together with Japanese band Bo Ningen.{{cite web|url=http://www.leguesswho.com/2014/|title=Le Guess Who? Festival 2014 official website|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150617144715/http://www.leguesswho.com/2014/|archive-date=June 17, 2015}}

In 2014 both The Seer and To Be Kind were ranked on Pitchfork{{'}}s "Top 100 Albums of the Decade So Far 2010–2014." The Seer was ranked 17 and To Be Kind was ranked 85.{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/9465-the-top-100-albums-of-2010-2014/|title=The Top 100 Albums of the Decade So Far; Pitchfork Media|work=Pitchfork |publisher=pitchfork.com|access-date=March 3, 2017}}

The band announced on July 22, 2015, that they would be recording their fourteenth studio album in September 2015, following a fundraiser album entitled The Gate,{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/SwansOfficial/photos/a.487755361977.266239.13879391977/10154034056451978/?type=1&theater |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/13879391977/10154034056451978 |archive-date=2022-02-26 |url-access=limited|title=Facebook|website=Facebook.com|accessdate=June 21, 2021}}{{cbignore}} as with the three previous post-reunion studio albums.{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/SwansOfficial/photos/a.487755361977.266239.13879391977/10153779357881978/?type=1&theater |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/13879391977/10153779357881978 |archive-date=2022-02-26 |url-access=limited|title=Facebook|website=Facebook.com|access-date=June 21, 2021}}{{cbignore}} On April 5, 2016, the band announced The Glowing Man and shared a two-minute excerpt of the twenty-nine minute title track. The album was released on June 17, 2016, on Young God Records and Mute Records,{{cite web|last=Camp|first=Zoe|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/64268-swans-announce-new-album-the-glowing-man-tease-title-track-listen/|title=Swans Announce New Album The Glowing Man, Tease Title Track: Listen|website=Pitchfork Media|date=April 5, 2016|access-date=April 5, 2016}} and is the final Swans album released under a mostly homogeneous lineup, although Gira continues to record Swans music with "a revolving cast" of musicians, as of 2019.{{cite web|url=https://younggodrecords.com/products/the-glowing-man|title=The Glowing Man|access-date=April 27, 2017}}

This final incarnation of the band announced for immediate release a live album, Deliquescence, on May 17. The album, limited to 3,000 CD-only copies, contains three tracks that have previously only been played live.{{cite web|url=https://younggodrecords.com/collections/frontpage/products/deliquescence|title=DELIQUESCENCE (Ltd. 2CD Live Recording)|website=YOUNG GOD RECORDS|access-date=May 17, 2017}}

Following a nearly year-long break from Swans, Gira announced a brief tour of new Swans material playing along the West Coast of the United States, which started in September 2018 accompanied by longtime Swans guitarist Norman Westberg with recording of a new album commencing in Berlin in February 2019.{{cite web |url=https://younggodrecords.com/blogs/news/m-gira-solo-tour-usa-and-more |title=M.Gira Solo Tour USA and more |work=Young God Records |date=September 4, 2018 |access-date=November 3, 2018 |archive-date=September 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180916164243/https://younggodrecords.com/blogs/news/m-gira-solo-tour-usa-and-more |url-status=live }} The fifteenth Swans album was preceded (and financed) by another fundraiser album of demos, What Is This?, released in March 2019.{{cite web|url=https://younggodrecords.com/products/what-is-this|title=What Is This? (Handmade CD)|website=YOUNG GOD RECORDS|access-date=March 25, 2019}} Updates between June and August 2019 confirmed that the upcoming album was fully recorded, mixed and mastered.{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/mgira/posts/10205970051527115 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/1734962664/10205970051527115 |archive-date=2022-02-26 |url-access=limited|title=Michael Gira|website=www.facebook.com}}{{cbignore}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/mgira/videos/10205866009366126/?permPage=1|title=Michael Gira – hello there.|via=www.facebook.com}} On September 5, the album was revealed to be called Leaving Meaning and a single from the album titled "It's Coming It's Real" was released.{{Cite web|url=https://www.spin.com/2019/09/swans-album-leaving-meaning-its-coming-its-real/|title=Swans Announce New Album 'Leaving Meaning,' Release "It's Coming It's Real"|date=September 5, 2019}} The album itself was released on October 25. It features guitarist Christoph Hahn, percussionist Larry Mullins and bassist Yoyo Röhm as main contributors.{{cite web|url=https://rockandrollglobe.com/psychedelics/swans-leaving-meaning-interview/|title=Swans Mean Business|date=October 21, 2019|access-date=November 6, 2019|website=Rock and Roll Globe}} In 2019, a documentary about the band, called Where Does a Body End? was also released by Italian-American director Marco Porsia.{{cite web|url=https://cultureaddicts.com/film-review-where-does-a-body-end/ |title=Film review: 'Where Does A Body End?' |work=Culture Addicts |date=May 27, 2019 |access-date=July 31, 2020}} In March 2021, Gira announced a new Swans album with an Instagram post of a tracklist.{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CMp7Yi-list/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/CMp7Yi-list |archive-date=December 26, 2021 |url-access=registration| title=N/A |access-date=March 29, 2021}}{{cbignore}}

On January 6, 2022, Michael Gira announced on his Instagram that a new fundraiser album was available via Young God Records, called Is There Really a Mind?.{{Cite web|title=Swans_Official Instagram Post|url=https://www.instagram.com/accounts/login/?next=/p/CYxda2zNmnS/|access-date=February 14, 2022|website=www.instagram.com}} The fundraiser album sold out in just nine days. Young God Records said Swans would begin recording in April 2022. On March 22, 2023, the album was revealed to be titled The Beggar, and a single from the album titled "Paradise Is Mine" was released. The Beggar was released on June 23, 2023.{{Cite web|title=Is There Really A Mind? (Handmade CD) – (New Album Fundraiser & Pre-Order) – Sold Out|url=https://younggodrecords.com/products/is-there-really-a-mind|access-date=February 14, 2022|website=YOUNG GOD RECORDS}}{{cite web|title=The Beggar (Pre-Order)|url=https://younggodrecords.com/products/the-beggar|access-date=March 22, 2023|website=YOUNG GOD RECORDS}}

In July 2024, Gira announced a live album, Live Rope, recorded at performances in 2023 and 2024 and intended to fund the creation of another Swans album. On November 15, 2024, Gira announced on Instagram that the album would be titled Birthing, to be mixed in Berlin that month and released in 2025, and described it as "the final "big sound" Swans album":{{cite web | url=https://www.instagram.com/swans_official/p/DCZds9RP47J/ | title=Instagram }}

"Going forward (after the release of Birthing and its subsequent tours), things will be simpler and more intimate for Swans. When that time comes, I look forward to discovering a fresh path towards a new sonic terrain in which to dwell."

"I Am a Tower", the first single from Birthing, was released on February 25, 2025.{{cite news |last1=Ragusa |first1=Paolo |title=Swans announce new album Birthing, share sprawling new song "I Am a Tower" |url=https://consequence.net/2025/02/swans-new-album-birthing-i-am-a-tower-stream/ |access-date=25 February 2025 |work=Consequence |date=25 February 2025 |language=en}} The album was also given a release date of May 30, 2025.

File:Swans @ Stylus, Leeds University 5-4-2013 (8624010609).jpg in April 2013]]

Swans' music has transformed greatly over the decades, but is typically dark{{cite web|url=http://www.treblezine.com/beginners-guide-swans/|title=Beginner's Guide: Swans|first=Jeff|last=Terich|date=September 26, 2013|publisher=Treblezine|access-date=March 7, 2017}} and "apocalyptic",{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/apr/05/swans-review|title=Swans – review|first=Ian|last=Gittins|date=April 5, 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=March 7, 2017}} often focusing on themes of power, religion, sex and death,{{cite web|url=http://www.stereogum.com/1197001/swans-albums-from-worst-to-best/|title=Swans Albums From Worst To Best|first=Aaron|last=Lariviere|website=Stereogum|date=November 9, 2012|access-date=March 7, 2017}} and has been most generally associated with experimental rock.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/20-rock-albums-that-turn-20-in-2016-20160616/sublime-sublime-20160616|title=20 Rock Albums Turning 20 in 2016|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=June 16, 2016|access-date=February 14, 2017}}{{cite news|url=http://www.courant.com/entertainment/music/hc-ctn-qa-with-michael-gira-of-swans-0703-20140703-story.html|title=Michael Gira Explains Why Drones Are Central To The Sound Of Swans|last=Hamad|first=Michael|newspaper=Hartford Courant|date=June 26, 2014|access-date=March 7, 2017}} According to Spin, the band demonstrates "unparalleled ability to translate the absurd violence of the human condition into music that’s as intoxicating as it is intense."{{cite magazine|url=http://www.spin.com/2016/06/review-swans-the-glowing-man/|title=Review: Swans' Actual Swan Song Is a Cloud of Unknowing on 'The Glowing Man'|last=Camp|first=Zoe|magazine=Spin|date=June 21, 2016|access-date=March 20, 2017|archive-date=April 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404172323/http://www.spin.com/2016/06/review-swans-the-glowing-man/|url-status=live}}

Their early work, rooted in the New York City-based no wave movement which was fading out by the time of their formation in 1982,{{cite magazine|url=http://www.factmag.com/2014/03/10/a-beginners-guide-to-no-wave/|title=A Beginner's Guide to No Wave, New York's middle finger to the world|last=Calvert|first=John|magazine=FACT Magazine|date=March 10, 2014|access-date=February 15, 2017|archive-date=August 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812021608/http://www.factmag.com/2014/03/10/a-beginners-guide-to-no-wave/|url-status=live}} is extremely aggressive, characterized by Michael Gira as "stripping down the essential elements of what we consider to be rock music".{{cite web|url=http://louderthanwar.com/swans-in-depth-interview-with-michael-gira/|title=Swans : in depth interview with Michael Gira|publisher=Louder Than War|date=February 10, 2013|access-date=March 7, 2017}} The Guardian described it as "a cacophonous rhythmic throb which drew on post-punk, industrial, doom metal, NYC avant minimalism and the blues; a sound which was matched by Gira's often nihilistic, anti-natalist and existential lyrical concerns ... delivered in a stentorian and messianic manner."{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/dec/04/enduring-love-why-swans-are-more-vital-now-than-ever|title=Enduring Love: why Swans are more vital now than ever|first=John|last=Doran|date=December 4, 2015|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=March 7, 2017}} It was a contribution to both industrial musicReynolds, Simon (2005). Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984. (Page 487) London: Faber and Faber. {{ISBN|0-571-21569-6}} and noise rock{{cite web|title=Noise-Rock|url=http://www.allmusic.com/style/noise-rock-ma0000004455|website=AllMusic|access-date=March 7, 2017|archive-date=June 2, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120602052658/http://www.allmusic.com/style/noise-rock-ma0000004455|url-status=live}} and influenced the emergence of grindcoreMudrian, Albert (2000). Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal and Grindcore. (Page 35) Feral House. {{ISBN|1-932595-04-X}} (inspiring also the use of "grind" in musical context)Mudrian, Adrian 2004, page 35. and sludge metal.{{cite magazine|title=The 10 essential sludge metal albums|url=http://teamrock.com/feature/2016-10-12/the-10-essential-sludge-metal-albums|last=Chantler|first=Chris|magazine=Metal Hammer|date=October 12, 2016|access-date=January 11, 2017|archive-date=March 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320183457/http://teamrock.com/feature/2016-10-12/the-10-essential-sludge-metal-albums|url-status=live}} Later in the 1980s, Swans' music began to incorporate more melodic and intricate elements, especially since Jarboe's debut as a songwriter on 1987's Children of God.{{cite web|title=Swans – Biography|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/swans-mn0000034988/biography|last=Jurek|first=Thom|website=AllMusic|access-date=February 13, 2017}} While generally maintaining much dissonance, the band's subsequent work further ventured into genres such as post-punk,{{cite web|url=http://ppcorn.com/us/2014/10/02/swans-wave-act-survived/|title=Swans: The Only No Wave Act That Survived|first=Peter|last=Foy|work=PPcorn|date=October 2, 2014|access-date=February 14, 2017|archive-date=August 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809172454/http://ppcorn.com/us/2014/10/02/swans-wave-act-survived/|url-status=dead}} gothic rock, neofolk,{{cite magazine|url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/features/articles/freaking-folk-out-swans-early-90s-classics-rediscovered|title=Freaking folk out: Swans' early 90s classics rediscovered|first=Tamlin|last=Magee|date=December 4, 2015|magazine=The Line of Best Fit|access-date=March 7, 2017}} psychedelic rock and art rock. Their final album before breaking up, 1996's Soundtracks for the Blind, is a double album which emphasizes atmosphere, branching into post-rock, drone{{cite web|url=http://www.magnetmagazine.com/2016/08/16/magnet-classics-the-making-of-swans-soundtracks-for-the-blind/|title=The Making of Swans' Soundtracks for the Blind|first=A.D.|last=Amorosi|date=August 16, 2016|publisher=Magnet|access-date=March 7, 2017}} and dark ambient. Since re-forming in 2010, they have continued to be associated with post-rock{{cite web|url=http://www.columbusalive.com/content/stories/2013/07/18/staff-pick-swans-grueling-post-rock-will-send-you-reeling.html|title=Staff Pick: Swans' grueling post-rock will send you reeling|publisher=Columbus Alive|date=July 17, 2013|access-date=November 17, 2016|archive-date=November 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161117063710/http://www.columbusalive.com/content/stories/2013/07/18/staff-pick-swans-grueling-post-rock-will-send-you-reeling.html|url-status=live}} and drone music as well as noise rock. The double albums from the latest years, which have brought them widespread critical acclaim, often feature long songs that develop complex soundscapes.{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21994-the-glowing-man/|title=Swans: The Glowing Man|first=Saby|last=Reyes-Kulkarni|website=Pitchfork|date=June 21, 2016|access-date=March 3, 2017}}

Swans have been cited as an influence by a variety of rock and extreme metal musicians, including members of Napalm Death,{{cite web|title=Napalm Death interview|url=http://askearache.blogspot.com/2010/04/napalm-deaths-tributescovers-of-other.html|website=Ask Earache|date=April 6, 2010|access-date=September 9, 2017|archive-date=September 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909233241/http://askearache.blogspot.com/2010/04/napalm-deaths-tributescovers-of-other.html|url-status=live}} Godflesh,{{cite web|title=Broadrick interview|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/justin-broadrick-on-the-secret-history-of-godflesh/|website=Noisey|date=July 8, 2014|access-date=September 9, 2017|archive-date=September 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909234138/https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/6vajmr/justin-broadrick-on-the-secret-history-of-godflesh|url-status=live}} Melvins,{{cite web|url=http://www.markprindle.com/kingbuzzo-i.htm|title=Buzz Osborne interview|website=www.markprindle.com|access-date=April 20, 2019|archive-date=March 2, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240302011443/http://www.markprindle.com/kingbuzzo-i.htm|url-status=live}} Neurosis,{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/nov/03/neurosis-crass-bands-anarcho-punk-steve-von-till|title=Neurosis: 'Crass were the mother of all bands'|first=Alex|last=Deller|newspaper=The Guardian|date=November 3, 2016|access-date=April 19, 2019|via=www.theguardian.com|archive-date=November 29, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129004419/https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/nov/03/neurosis-crass-bands-anarcho-punk-steve-von-till|url-status=live}} Treponem Pal,{{cite web|url=http://www.leseternels.net/interviews.aspx?id=152|title=Interview: Treponem Pal |website= leseternels.net|date=February 25, 2008|access-date=March 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100616132048/http://www.leseternels.net/interviews.aspx?id=152|archive-date=June 16, 2010|url-status=live}} Nirvana,{{cite web|url=https://www.kerrang.com/features/kurt-cobains-50-favourite-albums/|title=Kurt Cobain's 50 Favourite Albums|website=Kerrang|access-date=June 5, 2019|archive-date=April 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406070804/https://www.kerrang.com/features/kurt-cobains-50-favourite-albums/|url-status=live}} Tool,{{cite web|title=Morello interview|url=https://consequence.net/2016/10/maynard-james-keenan-details-how-tool-and-rage-against-the-machine-formed-in-new-biography/|website=Consequence of Sound|date=October 25, 2016|access-date=September 9, 2017}} My Dying Bride,{{cite web|url=http://www.releasemagazine.net/Spotlight/spotlightmydyingbride.htm|title=My Dying Bride – Release Music Magazine Spotlight|website=www.releasemagazine.net|access-date=October 8, 2017|archive-date=May 11, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060511232325/http://www.releasemagazine.net/Spotlight/spotlightmydyingbride.htm|url-status=live}} Isis,{{Cite web|url=http://www.peek-a-boo-magazine.be/en/interviews/aaron-turner-sumac-isis-mamiffer-2019/|title=AARON TURNER (SUMAC, ISIS, MAMIFFER...) – interview by Peek-A-Boo magazine|website=www.peek-a-boo-magazine.be}} Weakling,{{cite web|title=Weakling interview|url=http://www.maelstromzine.com/ezine/interview_iss25_165.php|website=maelstromzine|access-date=September 9, 2017|archive-date=February 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212015131/http://www.maelstromzine.com/ezine/interview_iss25_165.php|url-status=dead}} Leviathan,{{Cite web|url=http://www.maelstromzine.com/ezine/interview_iss5_61.php|title=Interview with LEVIATHAN :: Maelstrom :: Issue No 5|website=www.maelstromzine.com|access-date=April 18, 2019|archive-date=February 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212015128/http://www.maelstromzine.com/ezine/interview_iss5_61.php|url-status=dead}} Natural Snow Buildings,{{Cite web |title=OndaRock.com- Interwiews |url=https://www.ondarock.com/interview/naturalsnowbuildings |access-date=2024-10-12 |website=www.ondarock.com}} Khanate,{{cite web|title=Khanate interview|url=http://www.cosmiclava.com/reviews-interviews/interviews/2001/khanate.html|website=cosmiclava|access-date=September 9, 2017}} Liturgy,{{cite web|title=Liturgy interview|url=http://www.spinner.com/2011/03/03/liturgy-sxsw-top-100/|access-date=April 13, 2018|archive-date=September 18, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918115145/http://www.spinner.com/2011/03/03/liturgy-sxsw-top-100/|url-status=dead}} Vision Eternel,{{Cite web |last=Koczan |first=JJ |date=September 16, 2020 |title=Six Dumb Questions with Vision Eternel |url=https://theobelisk.net/obelisk/2020/09/16/vision-eternel-for-farewell-of-nostalgia-sdq |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200916162607/https://theobelisk.net/obelisk/2020/09/16/vision-eternel-for-farewell-of-nostalgia-sdq |archive-date=September 16, 2020 |access-date=July 12, 2023 |website=The Obelisk |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Campbell |first=Dave |date=January 11, 2023 |title=Triskalyon's Alexander Julien Interview |url=http://www.metal-temple.com/site/catalogues/entry/musicians/triskalyon-s-alexander.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230111175106/http://www.metal-temple.com/site/catalogues/entry/musicians/triskalyon-s-alexander.htm |archive-date=January 11, 2023 |access-date=July 12, 2023 |website=Metal Temple |language=en-US}} Car Seat Headrest,{{Cite web|url=http://www.whatthesound.com/interviews/car-seat-headrest/|title=Car Seat Headrest|website=What The Sound|language=en-US|date=August 4, 2015|access-date=January 18, 2019|archive-date=June 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614034242/https://www.whatthesound.com/interviews/car-seat-headrest|url-status=live}} Full of Hell,{{Cite web |last=Pessaro |first=Fred |date=2014-09-16 |title=Old Souls with Piercing Noise: Stream the New Full of Hell / Merzbow Collaboration |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/full-of-hell-gordian-stream/ |access-date=2024-01-28 |website=Vice |language=en |archive-date=November 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112203333/https://www.vice.com/en/article/rq7nvr/full-of-hell-gordian-stream |url-status=live }} and Sprain.{{Cite web |last=goodalbumfriday |date=2020-08-10 |title=Interview: Sprain |url=https://goodalbumfriday.com/2020/08/10/interview-sprain/ |access-date=2024-01-28 |website=Good Album Friday |language=en-US}}

• Michael Gira – lead vocals, guitar, bass, tape loops, keyboards (1981–1997, 2010–present)
• Norman Westberg – guitar, vocals (1983–1990, 1993–1995, 2010–2017, 2019, 2024–present)
• Kristof Hahn (also known as Christoph Hahn) – guitar, lap steel guitar, backing vocals (1989–1992, 2010–2017, 2019–present)
• Larry Mullins – drums, Mellotron, percussion, vibes, backing vocals (1995–1996, 2019–present)
• Phil Puleo – drums, percussion, dulcimer, backing vocals (1997, 2010–2017, 2019–present)
• Christopher Pravdica – bass guitar, backing vocals, taishōgoto (2010–2017, 2019–present)
• Dana Schechter – bass guitar, lap steel guitar, keyboards (2019–present)

{{multiple image

| footer =

| image1 = Swans @ ATP I'll Be Your Mirror 2011.jpg

| caption1 = Thor Harris (behind Gira)

| width1 = 106

| image2 = Norman Westberg with Swans 2014.jpg

| caption2 = Norman Westberg

| width2 = 103

| image3 = Phil Puleo Swans 2014.jpg

| caption3 = Phil Puleo

| width3 = 172

| image4 = Chris Pravdica with Swans in Boston, MA, May 2014.jpg

| caption4 = Christopher Pravdica

| width4 = 166

| image5 = Jarboe 2009.jpg

| caption5 = Jarboe

| width5 = 94

| align = center

}}

{{div col|colwidth=25em}}

• Jonathan Kane – drums (1981–1983)
• Daniel Galli-Duani – saxophone (1981–1982)
• Bob Pezzola – guitar (1981–1983)
• Sue Hanel – guitar (1982)
• Thurston Moore – bass guitar (1982)
• Dan Braun – bass guitar (1982)
• Jon Tessler – bass guitar, percussion, tape loops (1982)
• Mojo – percussion, tape loops (1982)
• Roli Mosimann – drums (1982–1984; died 2024)
• Harry Crosby – bass guitar (1983–1986; died 2013)
• John Hood – drums (1984)
• Ivan Nahem – drums (1984–1985)
• Jarboe – keyboards, vocals, piano (1985–1997, 2012, one off show in 2016)
• Ronaldo Gonzalez – drums (1985–1987)
• Ted Parsons – drums (1985–1987, 1991, 1993–1994)
• Algis Kizys – bass guitar (1985–1988, 1991–1995)
• Jason Asnes – bass guitar (1988)
• Virgil Moorefield – drums (1988)
• Steve McCalister – bass guitar (1989)
• Vinnie Signorelli – drums, percussion (1989–1992)
• Clint Steele – guitar (1990–1995, 1997)
• Jenny Wade – bass guitar (1990–1991)
• Anton Fier – drums (1990–1991; died 2022)
• Bill Rieflin – drums, additional instruments (1994–1996, guest appearances 2010–2017; died 2020)
• Joe Goldring – bass guitar (1995–1996)
• Vudi - guitar, keyboards (1995–1996)
• Bill Bronson – bass guitar (1997)
• Thor Harris – drums, percussion, vibraphone, hammered dulcimer, keyboards (2010–2016, 2017, 2019)
• Paul Wallfisch – keyboards (2016–2017, 2019)
• Yoyo Röhm – bass guitar, double bass, keyboards, vocals (2019)
• Ben Frost – synthesizer, mellotron, guitar (2020-2023, guest appearances since 2012)

{{div col end}}

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bar:Jarboe text:"Jarboe"

bar:Galli-Duani text:"Daniel Galli-Duani"

bar:Pezzola text:"Bob Pezzola"

bar:Hanel text:"Sue Hanel"

bar:Westberg text:"Norman Westberg"

bar:Hahn text:"Christoph Hahn"

bar:Steele text:"Clint Steele"

bar:Vudi text:"Vudi"

bar:Walfisch text:"Paul Walfisch"

bar:Frost text:"Ben Frost"

bar:Moore text:"Thurston Moore"

bar:Braun text:"Dan Braun"

bar:Tessler text:"Jon Tessler"

bar:Crosby text:"Harry Crosby"

bar:Kizys text:"Algis Kizys"

bar:Asnes text:"Jason Asnes"

bar:McCalister text:"Steve McCalister"

bar:Wade text:"Jenny Wade"

bar:Goldring text:"Joe Goldring"

bar:Bronson text:"Bill Bronson"

bar:Pravdica text:"Chris Pravdica"

bar:Röhm text:"Yoyo Röhm"

bar:Schechter text:"Dana Schechter"

bar:Kane text:"Jonathan Kane"

bar:Mosimann text:"Roli Mosimann"

bar:Hood text:"John Hood"

bar:Nahem text:"Ivan Nahem"

bar:Gonzalez text:"Ronaldo Gonzalez"

bar:Parsons text:"Ted Parsons"

bar:Moorfield text:"Virgil Moorfield"

bar:Signorelli text:"Vinnie Signorelli"

bar:Fier text:"Anton Fier"

bar:Mullins text:"Larry Mullins"

bar:Rieflin text:"Bill Rieflin"

bar:Puleo text:"Phil Puleo"

bar:Harris text:"Thor Harris"

bar:Mojo text:"Mojo"

PlotData=

width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)

bar:Gira from:start till:06/06/1997 color:vox

bar:Gira from:start till:06/06/1982 color:bass width:3

bar:Gira from:06/06/1982 till:27/05/1983 color:bass width:7

bar:Gira from:06/06/1982 till:03/03/1986 color:tapes width:3

bar:Gira from:01/01/1986 till:03/03/1986 color:bass width:7

bar:Gira from:03/03/1986 till:01/01/1988 color:keyboards width:3

bar:Gira from:01/01/1988 till:06/06/1997 color:guitar width:3

bar:Gira from:01/01/2010 till:04/11/2017 color:vox

bar:Gira from:01/01/2010 till:04/11/2017 color:guitar width:3

bar:Gira from:01/09/2019 till:end color:vox

bar:Gira from:01/09/2019 till:end color:guitar width:3

bar:Jarboe from:01/01/1985 till:06/06/1997 color:vox

bar:Jarboe from:01/01/1987 till:06/06/1997 color:keyboards width:3

bar:Galli-Duani from:01/06/1981 till:06/06/1982 color:sax

bar:Hanel from:01/06/1982 till:27/12/1982 color:guitar

bar:Pezzola from:01/06/1981 till:09/09/1982 color:guitar

bar:Westberg from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1990 color:guitar

bar:Westberg from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/1995 color:guitar

bar:Westberg from:01/01/2010 till:04/11/2017 color:guitar

bar:Westberg from:01/01/2012 till:04/11/2017 color:bvox width:3

bar:Westberg from:01/09/2019 till:01/01/2020 color:guitar

bar:Westberg from:01/09/2019 till:01/01/2020 color:bvox width:3

bar:Westberg from:01/03/2025 till:end color:guitar

bar:Westberg from:01/03/2025 till:end color:bvox width:3

bar:Hahn from:01/01/1989 till:06/06/1992 color:guitar

bar:Hahn from:01/01/2010 till:04/11/2017 color:guitar

bar:Hahn from:01/01/2012 till:04/11/2017 color:bvox width:3

bar:Hahn from:01/09/2019 till:end color:guitar

bar:Hahn from:01/09/2019 till:end color:bvox width:3

bar:Steele from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/1995 color:guitar

bar:Steele from:01/01/1997 till:06/06/1997 color:guitar

bar:Vudi from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/1996 color:guitar

bar:Walfisch from:06/06/2016 till:04/11/2017 color:keyboards

bar:Walfisch from:01/09/2019 till:01/01/2020 color:keyboards

bar:Frost from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2023 color:keyboards

bar:Frost from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2023 color:guitar width:3

bar:Moore from:01/01/1982 till:03/03/1982 color:bass

bar:Braun from:03/03/1982 till:06/06/1982 color:bass

bar:Tessler from:06/06/1982 till:01/01/1983 color:bass

bar:Tessler from:06/06/1982 till:01/01/1983 color:perc width:7

bar:Tessler from:06/06/1982 till:01/01/1983 color:tapes width:3

bar:Crosby from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/1986 color:bass

bar:Kizys from:06/06/1985 till:06/06/1988 color:bass

bar:Kizys from:09/09/1991 till:01/01/1995 color:bass

bar:Asnes from:06/06/1988 till:01/01/1989 color:bass

bar:McCalister from:01/01/1989 till:01/01/1990 color:bass

bar:Wade from:09/09/1990 till:09/09/1991 color:bass

bar:Goldring from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/1996 color:bass

bar:Goldring from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/1996 color:guitar width:3

bar:Bronson from:01/01/1997 till:06/06/1997 color:bass

bar:Pravdica from:01/01/2010 till:04/11/2017 color:bass

bar:Pravdica from:01/01/2012 till:04/11/2017 color:bvox width:3

bar:Pravdica from:01/09/2019 till:end color:bass

bar:Pravdica from:01/09/2019 till:end color:bvox width:3

bar:Schechter from:01/09/2019 till:end color:bass

bar:Schechter from:01/09/2019 till:end color:guitar width:7

bar:Schechter from:01/09/2019 till:end color:keyboards width:3

bar:Röhm from:01/09/2019 till:01/01/2020 color:bass width:7

bar:Röhm from:01/09/2019 till:01/01/2020 color:keyboards

bar:Röhm from:01/09/2019 till:01/01/2020 color:bvox width:3

bar:Kane from:start till:08/05/1983 color:drums

bar:Mosimann from:06/06/1982 till:30/06/1984 color:drums

bar:Mosimann from:06/06/1982 till:08/05/1983 color:tapes width:3

bar:Hood from:01/01/1984 till:01/04/1984 color:drums

bar:Nahem from:01/09/1984 till:01/09/1985 color:drums

bar:Gonzalez from:06/06/1985 till:01/01/1987 color:drums

bar:Parsons from:01/09/1985 till:01/01/1988 color:drums

bar:Parsons from:09/09/1991 till:12/12/1991 color:drums

bar:Parsons from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/1994 color:drums

bar:Moorfield from:01/01/1988 till:01/01/1989 color:drums

bar:Signorelli from:01/01/1989 till:09/09/1992 color:drums

bar:Signorelli from:01/01/1989 till:09/09/1992 color:perc width:3

bar:Fier from:09/09/1990 till:02/02/1991 color:drums

bar:Rieflin from:01/01/1994 till:06/06/1996 color:drums

bar:Rieflin from:01/01/1994 till:06/06/1996 color:various width:3

bar:Rieflin from:01/01/2010 till:06/06/2016 color:various width:3

bar:Mullins from:04/01/1995 till:01/01/1996 color:drums

bar:Mullins from:04/01/1995 till:01/01/1996 color:perc width:3

bar:Puleo from:01/01/1997 till:06/06/1997 color:drums

bar:Puleo from:01/01/1997 till:06/06/1997 color:perc width:3

bar:Puleo from:01/01/2010 till:04/11/2017 color:drums

bar:Puleo from:01/01/2010 till:01/01/2012 color:perc width:3

bar:Puleo from:01/01/2012 till:04/11/2017 color:perc width:7

bar:Puleo from:01/01/2012 till:04/11/2017 color:bvox width:3

bar:Puleo from:01/09/2019 till:end color:drums

bar:Puleo from:01/09/2019 till:end color:perc width:7

bar:Puleo from:01/09/2019 till:end color:bvox width:3

bar:Harris from:01/01/2010 till:06/06/2016 color:perc

bar:Harris from:01/01/2010 till:06/06/2016 color:drums width:7

bar:Harris from:01/01/2010 till:06/06/2016 color:various width:3

bar:Harris from:04/10/2017 till:04/11/2017 color:perc

bar:Harris from:04/10/2017 till:04/11/2017 color:drums width:7

bar:Harris from:04/10/2017 till:04/11/2017 color:various width:3

bar:Harris from:01/09/2019 till:01/01/2020 color:perc

bar:Harris from:01/09/2019 till:01/01/2020 color:drums width:7

bar:Harris from:01/09/2019 till:01/01/2020 color:various width:3

bar:Mullins from:01/09/2019 till:end color:drums

bar:Mullins from:01/09/2019 till:end color:keyboards width:7

bar:Mullins from:01/09/2019 till:end color:bvox width:3

bar:Mojo from:06/06/1982 till:01/01/1983 color:perc

bar:Mojo from:06/06/1982 till:01/01/1983 color:tapes width:3

}}

{{main|Swans discography}}

Studio albums

• Filth (1983)
• Cop (1984)
• Greed (1986)
• Holy Money (1986)
• Children of God (1987)
• The Burning World (1989)
• White Light from the Mouth of Infinity (1991)
• Love of Life (1992)
• The Great Annihilator (1995)
• Soundtracks for the Blind (1996)
• My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky (2010)
• The Seer (2012)
• To Be Kind (2014)
• The Glowing Man (2016)
• Leaving Meaning (2019)
• The Beggar (2023)
• Birthing (2025)

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/tapedelay00neal/page/93|title=Tape Delay: Confessions from the Eighties Underground|language=en|editor-last=Neal|editor-first=Charles|publisher=SAF Publishing Ltd|year=1987|isbn=978-0-946719-02-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/tapedelay00neal/page/93 93–103]|via=the Internet Archive}}

{{commons category}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20170426200031/http://www.swans.pair.com/ Official site from Jarboe]
• {{Official website|https://younggodrecords.com/|name=Official site from Michael Gira and Young God Records}}
• {{AllMusic}}
• {{Discogs artist}}
• {{MusicBrainz artist}}
• {{imdb name|0841739}}
• [https://www.wheredoesabodyend.com/ Where does a body end? – 2019 Documentary movie on Swans directed by Marco Porsia]

{{Swans (band)|state=uncollapsed}}

{{Michael Gira}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:American experimental rock groups

Category:No wave groups

Category:American industrial music groups

Category:American noise rock music groups

Category:American post-punk music groups

Category:American gothic rock groups

Category:Psychedelic rock music groups from New York (state)

Category:American art rock groups

Category:American post-rock groups

Category:Rock music groups from New York (state)

Category:Musical groups from New York City

Category:1982 establishments in New York (state)

Category:Musical groups established in 1981

Category:1997 disestablishments in New York (state)

Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1997

Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2010

Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2017

Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2019

Category:Mute Records artists

Category:Homestead Records artists

Category:Uni Records artists

Category:Caroline Records artists

Category:Young God Records artists

Category:Atavistic Records artists

Category:Some Bizzare Records artists