Artists Band

Swans

Swans are an American experimental rock band formed in New York in 1982 by Michael Gira, who has led every line-up since. Gira disbanded the group in 1997 and re-formed it in 2010; that line-up, with Norman Westberg, Kristof Hahn, Christopher Pravdica, Phil Puleo and Thor Harris, made four studio albums, ending with The Glowing Man (2016). Since then Gira has worked with a changing cast: the latest studio album is Birthing (2025), and the live album Newly Sentient Being came out in October 2026.

2 pieces on Earbuddy

Photo: M0d3M, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

On Earbuddy

Artist

Review Experimental rock, Post-rock

Swans The Glowing Man

The last album by the line-up Michael Gira formed in 2010 is its most composed: prayers shaped by a medieval text, a lyric from 1982 and two farewell songs.

Elmo Phelge · 4 Nov 2026

Artist

Review Experimental rock, Noise rock

Swans To Be Kind

Swans' third album since the 2010 reunion grew out of 18 months on the road: ten songs, two hours, a 34-minute centrepiece and nothing wasted.

Elmo Phelge · 4 Nov 2026