SWANS - Young God EP - K422 Records - 1984

Описание: Four real grinders from Swans to settle your nerves to.

I bought the 'Young God' 12" mini-album at the Our Price record store in Harlow either in 1984 or 1985. I distinctly remember thinking that was a strange record to find at an Our Price record store, let alone an Our Price record store in Harlow!

That record, my first record by Swans, an EP including four songs, all of which, on average, lasted around six minutes each.

Normans steady angular guitar dirges, alongside Gira's screams, mumblings and sometimes, actual discernible lyrics, a slowed down (sub-base) bass drone, and the drums filling in only when necessary was like listening to the audio equivalent of a collapsed sun.

This EP is one of the heaviest slabs of drone ever committed to vinyl, years ahead of EARTH, SUNN O and their ilk forming their respective bands.

I saw Swans at the Mean Fiddler in Harlesden in 1988 and my original flyer is featured in the video.

I have also included my music press cut-out, the review for this record, printed at the time of it's initial release in the video.

Words below ripped from Wiki.

The earliest known line-up of Swans comprised Gira on bass guitar and vocals, Jonathan Kane on drums, and Sue Hanel on guitar. 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Hanel did not stay long in the group, and by the time of their recording debut, she had been replaced by Bob Pezzola. This line-up of the group also featured saxophonist Daniel Galli-Duani. The debut EP, 'Swans', released on Labor, is markedly different from anything they would do later. The plodding tempos and distorted, detuned guitar work is reminiscent of such post-punk outfits as Joy Division. 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 'Cop'. The closest reference point to the early Swans sound, as pointed out by one internet reviewer, is probably The Birthday Party, although far less overtly satirical.

In the same article cited above, Kane compares Swans to blues icon Chester Burnett, a.k.a. Howlin’ Wolf. While this comparison might initially seem unlikely, there are in fact 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 the Marquis de Sade), usually barked or shouted. Critic Ned Raggett describes Swans’ early recordings as “aggressive beyond words.”

Their first full-length release, 'Filth' (1983), featured driving, choppy rhythms and abrasive drums. 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 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 be featured on every subsequent studio album other than '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. This release has been known by several names, usually by one of its two A-sides, such as 'I Crawled' or, infamously, 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. Swans were, in this era, comprised of 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. 'Young God' is considered by many to be the best of their early albums for this reason.