SWANS' To Be Kind is a heavy, physical kind of rock, built from repeated guitar figures, pounding drums, bass that seems to pull everything downward, and Michael Gira's stark, commanding vocals. The songs can feel less like tidy compositions than structures being assembled in real time, with “Screen Shot,” “She Loves Us,” and “Oxygen” pushing forward through insistence and volume. There is room for stranger colour too, from lap steel, vibes, bells, dulcimer, piano and synthesizers to the brass and strings brought into the sessions.
Released in 2014 through the Young God orbit, it came from a band that had already been active since 1982, with much of the material shaped on tour before recording. John Congleton recorded the main sessions at Sonic Ranch outside El Paso, then mixed further work in Dallas, while Bill Rieflin added drums, keyboards, guitar and other parts across the album. St. Vincent, Cold Specks and Little Annie add vocals, with Julia Kent arranging strings on “Some Things We Do.” Anyone drawn to severe experimental rock, noise rock or post-rock should know what kind of commitment this asks for. The paid release is available on CD, vinyl and several digital formats.
