"I tried to deal with what I guess you could call the inherent evil I've discovered in myself; excise that, use it as material."Michael Gira is probably best known today for founding Young God Records and unleashing freak folk on an unsuspecting world. Before that he spent about 15 years fronting post-punk band Swans, releasing some of the most jarring, visceral music you’ll likely ever hear. When they broke up he formed the Angels of Light, a quieter, predominantly acoustic project with which he could explore his musical vision from a different perspective. While this album – their first – lacks the big lurching beats and screeching feedback soundscapes of Swans records, it maintains much of that band’s intensity, due in part to the rich, funereal arrangements, and Gira’s strong vocal performances, which are at times comforting and fatherly while at others distant and creepy. It’s a solid, well-written record, but long and emotionally draining; a remarkably cathartic listening experience that is just as likely to leave you feeling worn out and queasy if you’re not in the right mood.
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Angels of Light don't really get their due. I think the first four records were so incredibly powerful. The latest is kind of uninteresting in comparison. The split with Akron/Family, the AoL side was good, but completely overshadowed by the best akron family tracks to date -- raising the sparks and moment. This record (new mother) is like 5 songs too long. I wish that Gira would make another record with a side-long track. I mean, of course that's only my preference, but sometimes his lyrical themes can be a little self-parodying if there are too many tracks on a record. I fucking love the guy. The solo recordings of "failure" and "blind" made me feel so self-righteous when I was failing out of college.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. Sometimes it feels like he’s self-consciously trying to write “Michael Gira” songs. And yeah, his albums are way too long.
ReplyDeleteRumor has it that the new songs he’s working on are intended for a Swans reunion of some sort. Should be interesting.
thanks. love the gira stuff.. didn't really get it/swans in beginning, but a lil older a lil wiser.. thanks man, orey
ReplyDeleteCurrent state of Gira's ideas for the 'new' Swans - interesting stuff! - is here:
ReplyDeletehttp://younggodrecords.com/Releases/Detail.asp?C=2326
http://www.mediafire.com/?e52cb6ncy1z2r
ReplyDelete