What Is This? (Swans album)
| What Is This? | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Demo album by | ||||
| Released | March 2019 | |||
| Studio | Marcata Studio (tracks 1–8) Gira's home studio (tracks 9 & 10) | |||
| Length | 67:45 | |||
| Label | Young God | |||
| Producer | Michael Gira | |||
| Swans chronology | ||||
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What Is This? is a 2019 limited-edition fundraiser album by American experimental rock band Swans.[1][2][3] The album was released in March 2019 on band leader Michael Gira's Young God Records. Limited to 2,500 copies, the album served as a fundraiser for the fifteenth Swans album, Leaving Meaning, which was released in October 2019.
Background
The album includes demos that were worked on with a full band for the following Swans record, Leaving Meaning. Songs include reworkings of previous Swans and Gira songs, such as "Amnesia", "Annaline" and "The Knot" (itself a reworking of "No Words / No Thoughts"). Unlike Swans' previous fundraiser albums (with the exception of Gira's I Am Not Insane), What Is This? exclusively contains acoustic demo tracks.
Songs not recorded or left off the release include "You Will Pay" (also known as "You Must Pay"[4]), a rearranged version of 1989's "God Damn the Sun", an untitled "organ thing" and an untitled "long song".[5]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Michael Gira
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Leaving Meaning" (Previously referred to as "Prayer Thing"[6][7]) | 6:32 |
| 2. | "The Hanging Man" | 10:02 |
| 3. | "Amnesia" (New arrangement[6][7]) | 6:10 |
| 4. | "The Nub" | 5:50 |
| 5. | "Cathedrals of Heaven" (Reworking of the end of "The Knot", also previously referred to as "Prayer Thing"[6][7]) | 6:20 |
| 6. | "Sunfucker" | 6:30 |
| 7. | "What Is This?" | 5:21 |
| 8. | "My Phantom Limb" (Previously referred to as "The Secret Sharer"[4]) | 11:25 |
| 9. | "Annaline" (Previously released on Gira's I Am Not This) | 3:50 |
| 10. | "It's Coming and It's Real" (Previously referred to as "The Last Song",[5] later titled "It's Coming It's Real") | 5:49 |
| Total length: | 67:45 | |
Personnel
- Michael Gira – guitar, vocals, artwork
- Jennifer Gira – vocals on "The Nub"
- Nicole Boitos – artwork
- Doug Henderson – mastering
- Kevin McMahon – recording
References
- ^ "What Is This? (Handmade CD)". YOUNG GOD RECORDS. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
- ^ "Swans Announce What Is This? Handmade CD Release Featuring Acoustic Versions of Songs for New Album -". March 18, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
- ^ "Hey Swans, What Is This?". FLOOD. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
- ^ a b "Michael Gira @ Bremen Teater, Copenhagen, DEN - Live Review - Rockfreaks.net". www.rockfreaks.net.
- ^ a b "Photo". img.discogs.com. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
- ^ a b c "Instagram post by SWANS • Aug 2, 2018 at 3:32pm UTC". Instagram. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
- ^ a b c "SWANS on Instagram: "M.Gira will be performing solo versions of most of these new Swans songs at the following venues soon. His pal Norman Westberg will open…"". Instagram. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
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