Hear Me Out: Swans, "A Little God In My Hands"

By Courtesy Swans

Following 2012’s celebrated “The Seer,” Swans is back. Earlier this year, the American post-punk band announced that a new album, “To Be Kind”, was in the works; now, four years of songwriting and fundraising after their reformation, the eccentric rockers are almost ready to debut their creation. And if the new single is any indication, the full May release will be a disappointingly pedestrian continuation of Swans’s noisy, bizarre discography. “A Little God In My Hands” is soaked in the unsettling sound that has been the band’s trademark since their formation in the early ’80s.

The single begins somewhat traditionally; abrupt strums from a distorted guitar punctuate the foreground, while steady drums anchor the romp. However, around the one-minute mark, lead singer Michael Gira’s voice interrupts the texture, and from here the song settles into the same progressive rock elements on which Swans has always relied. Gira’s unyielding drone provides little melody to counterbalance the underlying simplicity of the chord progression. Instead, his lamentations give the single a feeling of unresolved monotony that lasts for the remaining six minutes.

As if Gira’s low whine wasn’t disconcerting enough, the lyrical matter is just as strange and harsh: “forever hateful, forever beautiful, forever needing, forever reaching.” The repetitive content pairs with the delivery to create an overbearing feeling of violent hopelessness. Weeping guitars, odd electronics, and blasting horns amp up the desperation. It’s completely uncomfortable, but from Swans, that’s nothing new.

“To Be Kind” is out May 12 via Young God/Mute.