Swans — Leaving Meaning
First thing first, I have to admit that Leaving Meaning is an album that grows with every listen, to me it encapsulates the band’s sound over the years, and whilst it perhaps doesn’t quite hark back to the truly discordant early 80s industrial material like Filth it takes in pretty much every other era of the band’s existence.
After the short ambient opener “Hum”, “Annaline” kicks things underway easing us in with a mellow opening number that is somewhat reminiscent of Nick Caves last couple of albums. This is followed by “The Hanging Man” a much darker track with that trademark hypnotic groove that they have become known for. This may well be one of the finest songs the band have ever recorded. It has a sprawling psychedelic vibe that spans the song’s 11 minute length but never outstays its welcome. The reworking of “Amnesia” originally released on 1992s Love of Life is remarkable, it has become a beautifully bleak acoustic ballad. Gira’s lyrics have never sounded more relevant than they do today, and the chorus features a wall of sound that puts Phil Spector to shame. The title track, “Leaving Meaning” sits somewhere between the albums softer more reflective tracks and the hypnotic quality of “The Hanging Man”, building in intensity as it goes. “Sunfucker” is up next, a tribal chant featuring what I believe are the vocal talents of Anna von Hausswolf on backing vocals. “Sunfucker” is a huge slab of discordant alt rock, a masterpiece of krautrock inspired drone rock.
The album’s second half gets underway with “Cathedrals of Heaven” a sizeable chunk of melancholy Americana with a vocal line that harks back to The Doors – My Wild Love from their third album Waiting For the Sun. The song becomes more dissonant towards the end as it builds before finally falling away again at the songs climax. “The Nub” touches on free form jazz in places with astonishing performances from Australian experimental jazz trio The Necks. At just over 12 minutes long it is the longest track on the album and features a host of different layers. Above all else it is a sublime piece of post jazz/rock. “It’s Coming, It’s Real” is another hypnotic monster that fits neatly alongside the others already mentioned, while the CD bonus track “Some New Things” has a very different vibe to everything else on the album, whilst still having that droning hypnotic vibe that Swans have become synonymous with in recent years it feels like a more traditional composition. “What is This?” reminds me of Mercury Rev but on a very heavy downer, whilst the album’s closer “My Phantom Limb” represents a dark dissonant nightmare, harking back to the band’s 80s industrial material to an extent, although nowhere near as harsh as the first few records.
Overall Leaving Meaning is a glorious collision of the various musical styles that make up the Swans back catalogue. Whilst it draws on their 80s and 90s material it is still firmly rooted in the contemporary musical landscape. Michael Gira has created yet another epic slab of gloomy cosmic Americana, that grows on you with every listen. I’ve been invested in this album for several weeks now and it just gets better with every listen. Another forward thinking masterpiece from the legend that is Michael Gira, who is surely one of the greatest artists of all time.