Swans - Soundtracks for the Blind

Young God

'Soundtracks for the Blind' is often regarded as Swans magnum opus, and arguing with this statement seems to be a futile undertaking. It encapsulates pretty much everything that the band personified since their inception in 1982, and places it upon a plateau.

Swans final album - until 'My Father Will Guide Me a Rope to the Sky' in 2010 and the 2010's resurgence of material - sits at over 2 hours in length. Serving as a long-haul record full of malignant material designed to wear away your inner walls, Soundtracks for the Blind stands alone in presence and persistent decay. Sentient soundscapes embellish the records runtime, scathing through gritted teeth. Acerbic scabs fester and froth as Michael Gira and co. produce a piece of work within a world unto itself. Malevolence has never been so concisely manifested in sonic form. Composed of pieces of material - tapes, loops, recordings etc. - collected over the 15 years of Swans career to that point, Soundtracks functions as a movie for the minds eye. A wicked deluge of miasmic dust circles over head, constant threats of rain and desert storms persist over the 140 minute journey time.

Your past comes back to haunt you every once in a while. The things that you thought were locked away seep through your subconscious veil. Burying the hatchet is never as easy as it may seem. Soundtracks for your ever-present past linger like residue from an atomic blast, magnificently escorting your mind's wandering eye on its way. Feeling lost/hurt/unable is a guarantee in life, an integral part, in fact. Facing forward and carrying on is key. Gira's subtle, and somewhat malevolent, touch brings forth life's woes into weeping view. Albums like this don’t come around every day, if ever.

Soundtracks for the Blind/Music for the Mind.

October 22nd, 1996.