The Glowing Man

The Glowing Man
Studio album by Swans
Released June 17, 2016 (2016-06-17)
Studio Sonic Ranch (Tornillo, Texas)
Elmwood Studios (Dallas, Texas)
Studio Litho (Seattle, Washington)
CandyBomber (Berlin)
Micro-Moose (Berlin)
Jen Turner's apartment (Brooklyn, New York)
B.C. Studios (Brooklyn, New York)
Genre
Length 118:23
Language English
Label
Producer Michael Gira
Swans chronology
The Gate
(2015)The Gate2015		 The Glowing Man
(2016)		 Deliquescence
(2017)Deliquescence2017
Singles from The Glowing Man
  1. "When Will I Return?"
    Released: May 27, 2016
  2. "Finally, Peace"
    Released: November 18, 2016

The Glowing Man is the fourteenth studio album by American experimental band Swans, released June 17, 2016 on Young God and Mute.[1][2]

The song "The World Looks Red/The World Looks Black" contains lyrics written by frontman Michael Gira that were used in the Sonic Youth song "The World Looks Red" in the album Confusion Is Sex. The music itself, however, is unrelated.[2] The title track has previously been referred to as "Black Hole Man"[3] and "Black-Eyed Man". The song "When Will I Return?" was uploaded to YouTube on May 27, 2016.[4]

Prior to its appearance on The Glowing Man, "Frankie M." was part of Swans' live sets as early as 2014, its length and arrangements differing each time it was performed.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic81/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
The A.V. ClubB+[7]
Consequence of SoundB+[8]
Exclaim!8/10[9]
Mojo[10]
Pitchfork8.1/10[11]
Record Collector[12]
Rolling Stone[13]
Spin8/10[14]
Uncut8/10[15]

Upon its release, The Glowing Man was widely praised by music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 81, based on 22 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Writing for Exclaim!, Griffin J. Elliot called the album "a meticulous exercise in the band's streamlining their abstract sound, taking what they've done before and playing it under a newer, grander spotlight."[9] Saby Reyes-Kulkarni wrote for Pitchfork, "The love in [Gira's] music is as terrible as it is beautiful, a wrenching act of spiritual determination. Swans make this sound effortless, though, in a fitting end to a remarkable chapter of their career."[11]

Accolades

Publication Accolade Year Rank
The Quietus Albums of the Year 2016 2016
Rough Trade Albums of the Year 2016

Track listing

All music composed by Michael Gira, Norman Westberg, Christopher Pravdica, Christoph Hahn, Thor Harris and Phil Puleo, except where noted.

Disc one
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Cloud of Forgetting" 12:43
2."Cloud of Unknowing" 25:12
3."The World Looks Red / The World Looks Black"Michael Gira14:27
4."People Like Us"Michael Gira4:32
Total length:56:54
Disc two
No.TitleMusicLength
5."Frankie M." 20:58
6."When Will I Return?"Michael Gira5:26
7."The Glowing Man" 28:50
8."Finally, Peace."Michael Gira6:15
Total length:61:29

Personnel

Adapted from the official Young God Records website:[2]

Charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[18] 24
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[19] 39
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[20] 69
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[21] 49
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22] 29
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 54
UK Albums (OCC)[24] 61
US Billboard 200[25] 151

References

  1. ↑ Camp, Zoe (April 5, 2016). "Swans Announce New Album The Glowing Man, Share Title Track: Listen". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "The Glowing Man (preorder)". Young God Records. April 5, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Swans Live Review @ Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn Vegan". Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  4. ↑ SWANS (May 27, 2016). "When Will I Return". Retrieved June 15, 2016 – via YouTube.
  5. ↑ "Reviews for The Glowing Man by Swans". Metacritic. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  6. ↑ Simpson, Paul. "The Glowing Man – Swans". AllMusic. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  7. ↑ Warwick, Kevin (June 17, 2016). "With The Glowing Man, Michael Gira Caps Off Swans' Golden Age of Exploration". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  8. ↑ Barry, Sean (June 17, 2016). "Swans – The Glowing Man". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
  9. 1 2 Elliot, Griffin J. (June 16, 2016). "Swans: The Glowing Man". Exclaim!. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  10. ↑ Segal, Victoria (July 2016). "Swans: The Glowing Man". Mojo (272): 92. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  11. 1 2 Reyes-Kulkarni, Saby (June 21, 2016). "Swans: The Glowing Man". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  12. ↑ Hamnett, Alun (July 2016). "Swans – The Glowing Man". Record Collector (455). Retrieved November 23, 2017.
  13. ↑ Weingarten, Christopher R. (July 11, 2016). "Swans: The Glowing Man". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
  14. ↑ Camp, Zoe (June 21, 2016). "Review: Swans' Actual Swan Song Is a Cloud of Unknowing on 'The Glowing Man'". Spin. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  15. ↑ Pattison, Louis (July 2016). "Swans – The Glowing Man". Uncut (230): 80. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  16. ↑ "The Quietus Albums of the Year 2016". The Quietus. December 6, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Albums of the Year". Rough Trade. November 14, 2016. Archived from the original on November 16, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Swans – The Glowing Man" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Swans – The Glowing Man" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Swans – The Glowing Man" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Swans – The Glowing Man" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Swans – The Glowing Man" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  23. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Swans – The Glowing Man". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
  25. ↑ "Swans Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
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