Swans - The Seer

allmusic“Sprawling, ambitious, thoughtfully conceived and tightly performed...” It is not an endurance test, but an argument for compulsive listening. It's an exquisitely wrought journey through post-rock, electronic soundscapes, haunting acoustic songs, punishing noise, and (lots of) percussion...

Clash Music“A bold and stark opus worthy of attention...” ‘The Wolf ’ is an almost a cappella spoken-word piece that lasts a minute-and-a-half, while the title track which follows it is a thirty-two-minute-long collage of weirdness that would test the patience of Gandhi...

The Independent“Covers all points from brutality to beauty...” The 32-minute title track and "Avatar" exult in extreme dirge terror. But Karen O's radiant vocals on "Song for a Warrior" show a nose for nuance: Gira knows it's light that makes the darkness seem so much richer...

Pitchfork“The tracks on The Seer aren't songs but incantations...” The album draws a jagged line through a universe of serious, apocalyptic music, from country blues to free jazz to drone and the brutal, hypnotic guitar rock Glenn Branca and Sonic Youth made while Gira was still moaning into the void...

Guardian“Certainly a challenge...” Opener Lunacy ("Lunacy! Lunacy!") sounds like a witchcraft chant; Mother of the World repeats two notes over what sounds like a TV test tone. The marathon title track crashes like waves of heavy metal on to an industrial shore...

Drowned In Sound“A surprisingly brisk two hours...” Actually, the best thing about this album is that Gira’s cried wolf so many times about having said all he has to say, there’s bound to be another 70 minute opus (at least) in six months. Here’s to another 30 years of Swans...

The Line of Best Fit“As intense a record as I’ve ever had the pleasure to come across...” It’s a relentlessly foreboding experience, as aggressive in its quietest moments as it is in its most cacophonous, as delicate when bringing a full band assault as when moments of curious, uncomfortable calm unfurl from the chaos...