Search - Swans :: Cop / Young God

Exploring the damage of patriarchal social structures

Bart Tare | United States | 07/26/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This CD combines SWANS second LP ("Cop") and an EP, both released around 1984. The music on these releases is a slow, droning, minimalistic, industrial sludge. It is like Black Sabbath or Black Flag slowed down ten times and played more intensely. Michael Gira's lyrics are filled with extreme images of dominance, humiliation, abusive power relationships, violence, and overconsumption. The imagery is so extreme it almost becomes comical. My interpretation of these lyrics--regardless of Gira's intention--is that they accurately portray all the damage that patriarchal social structures do to their victims. Sample lyric: "You're my father. I obey you. You know what I am. I want you to kill me. I'm weak." In my mind, these are the same types of feelings that are internalized by children raised in extremely shame-based authoritarian familial structures. Gira did a great job making this type of abusive power imagery into art on the first several SWANS releases during the mid-1980s. The stark, solid-block colors of these early album covers made for great visual art too. I saw the SWANS live several times in the late 1980s and they were intense. I still think these early albums have some powerful artistic moments. "Filth" and "Cop" are good introductions to SWANS sound and M. Gira's lyrical violence."

Difficult stuff

Lovblad | Geneva, Switzerland | 08/05/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"While the Swans allways managed to produce soem great things. The records are stylistically very beautiful and there are undoubtedly some fantastic moments of intensity but it does get somewhat tiring. They would evolve into soemthing great however."