Style: Acoustic, noise, experimental rock, avant-garde, massive
Primary Emotions/Themes: Loss, nothing matters anymore, life's destructive tendencies, the annihilation of hope and happiness, freedom from life and expectations
Thoughts: Every new Swans album is more than just a release, it's an event in the anneals of musical history. Swans doesn't release an album anymore - they release something more. Ever since Soundtracks for the Blind their albums have taken on a new scope, something that no other band come close to.
Like all Swans album's I've been putting off my summary of this one for months because I'm scared to write it. The last one I wrote ended up being a voyage into insanity and back, and while The Beggar is not quite to that scope it's still a formidable album.
Starting out with the peaceful and serene No More of This, The Beggar shows off Swans versatility immediately. There is no distortion here, no harshness - only a profound sense of sadness and loss. Michael's voice has a quiet resignation to it, like he is saying a final goodbye to a close friend. While it's the first song of the album it has an incredibly strong sense of finality to it... like all things Swans, the irony is not lost here.
The band continues to slowly build up the album over the next few tracks. Why Can't I Have What I Want Any Time I That I Want? and the title track both have this slow brooding unease to them that never fully resolves. This is especially true in Why Can't...? The song is seven minutes long and continues to build tension only to end on an unresolved chord before fading into the title track. Swans are masters of making the listener feel uncomfortable - this track is just another entry into that long and storied history.
It's not till we get to minute nine of the title track that we start to see the first real climax of the album. The entire song has been building into this primitive rhythmic war machine that marches onward regardless of what anyone thinks. Even then it still doesn't explode like you would expect it to, it just kind of swells and contracts. Again Michael is fucking with us.
The title track feels like a closure to the first chapter of the album, as the next few songs are... odd at best. Michael is Done is... happy? I'm not sure how to describe it but it feels like it's Swans twisted attempt at making a major key song. I think that's just a ruse though, as the song has this underlying tone of sorrow and despair despite the superficial appearance.
Unforming is a minimalist vocal driven song that gives me a deep sense of peace. Like someone who knows that they are going to die and accepts it... that absolute peace knowing what is going to happen and not doing a thing to change it. Ebbing continues this feeling by wrapping me in a blanket of warmth with the main riff/concept of the song. The song repeats the main theme almost its entire 10 minute length with different permutations - each and every one of them exudes that warm feeling that was started on Unforming.
The album finishes up with two of the more unsettling songs. Paradise is Mine has this creepy, stalking feeling that someone is always watching my every move... ready to take me away to an unhealthy place at a moments notice. The Memorious is almost a spoken word piece that delves into all things strange, hypnotic, and bizarre. It's an interesting choice for a closing song but it works regardless.
If there is one disappointment about the Beggar it's that the record is missing arguably the most important song on the record: The Beggar Lover (Three). This is a forty five (!!!) minute trip through insanity that rivals the best songs that the band has ever put out. Instead of creating a third record which I would have gladly paid extra for we're simply given a download code for the song. Not a fan of this decision.
The Beggar is another journey that is content to fuck with me every moment of it's run time. In doing so I'm resigned to quiet amazement at Swans ability to continue to have this effect on me album after album. The whole thing is seemingly split up into three chapters (at least musically). It's journey into the depths of human depravity, fear, hope, acceptance, freedom and slavery. Michael Gira is one of the finest guitar driven composers of our time, and this album is only another testament to his legacy. Long live Swans.
Written January 29th 2024
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