Swans - The Glowing Man [2CD] (2016) [Hi-Res]

Fourteenth and self-declared final studio album from Michael Gira and co. finally arrives in a heat haze of intensity and durational power. Swans have never done small. The Glowing Man clocks in at a vinyl bothering two hours, and not a note is wasted. Songs range from primordial rants through the netherworld, threatening Gothic blues (underpinned by that familiar Gira growl), epic 20minute+ slabs of alt-rock, sunset orange psychedelia, and a beautifully violent a reimagining of Sonic Youth’s ‘The World Looks Red’. This is Swans at their very best; a provocative trip into this most singular of bands. If this is to be the last album under this lineup, it is a fitting send-off.