Style: gothic rock, ambient, experimental
Primary Emotions/Themes: Happy, joyful music that extols the virtues of living and restores my faith in humanity... certainly this is what the album is about... most certainly
Thoughts: Whenever I have a Swans album to write about I cringe a little inside. Not because of anything wrong with the music... rather the opposite. There is so much going on in these albums that I feel overwhelmed and don't know where to start, where to finish, or even what direction I'm going. Love of Life offers little respite from this.
Trying to summarize a Swans album is trying to describe the texture of water without calling it wet. Trying to define the warmth of the sun to someone who has only ever felt cold. Explaining to someone what death is like when all we have ever experienced is living. It's nearly an impossible task. Yet here I am, once again trying to take up this task for the sake of completion.
Love of Life sounds like the most uplifting and joyful album that Swans ever have written. Those who are familiar with the band though know that this is as far from the truth as you can get. There is a sarcasm... no a bitterness to these lyrics that speaks to the deep loathing that Mr. Gira has of humanity and our perpetual need to commit atrocities.
The music does have a much milder tone musically than most of the albums that came before and after it. There is a subtle uplifting touch that is present in most of the songs that is completely absent from Swans other albums (except for maybe Leaving Meaning). That's not to say that the music is outright happy, this still is a deeply mournful album... but there are small but fleeting glimpses of hope from time to time.
Gira's voice in particular has cast aside most of the harshness from earlier works. He now wields a soft croon that drive the music forward. That combined with the extended use of acoustic guitars and keyboards make this album a surprisingly pleasant listen - at least by Swans standards.
I feel like I've written a lot of words and I haven't even started to touch the essence of what makes Love of Life itself. I could probably write another 10k words and not be able to adequately describe the music contained on this record accurately.
If I had to sum it up into a concise statement Love of Life is an album of contradictions. It celebrates the decay in life, it tears down the happiness that can be found in small moments. It emphasizes the joy that small victories bring, and shines a tiny light in the darkest of places. It has a bitterness about it that comes from the knowledge of what humanity is. It has a smirking sarcasm that comes from a life lived fully. It has all of these things at once. It never tries to justify its existence, it simply is content to be.
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