Swans -- The Seer

"I flipped the record like 20 times before I realized it was just Gira"

xp

Great, great piece of work. I like the uncompromisingness of it all, the "we don't like repeating this note for ten minutes either but it wouldn't be the same if we didn't" I imagine hearing them think during some bits. It works and it's awesome and uncomfortable all at once. I can't imagine anyone else pulling this off quite like this.

i thought it would be electrifying, but it was sort of disappointing and slack on first listen.

I love this, "Piece Of The Sky" is so beautiful... lots of this rec reminds me of the Love Of Life/White Light era. then there are the long crushing parts, mmm. I agree w/Whiney's review above that this is very similar in general vibe to Soundtracks For The Blind, esp. imagining that record without Jarboe.

agreed, this is definitely in the love of life/white light stream of things. it feels also like a career summation, a compilation of everything that has made Swans great; in that sense, it also feels like a 'last album,' but then so did soundtracks for the blind, so maybe it won't be.

Well they're two different kind of 'last albums' -- Soundtracks was summation as fragmented sprawl, Seer is summation as epic architecture.

Looked for this yesterday but it was £20. Including COMPULSORY bonus DVD and screaming LIMITED EDITION. I mean, fuck off, Gira, you're not all that. You realise that the only people who are going to buy this thing, hardcore Swans addicts/ILxors notwithstanding, are saddo "collectors" who look like Al Murray As The Pub Landlord and who'll try to flog it on eBay for £200 without even listening to it or taking it out of its shrinkwrap?

there is a normal 2CD edition. perhaps your shop had sold out of that one.

The 2xCD is hardly cheap either, unfortunately.

£18 in HMV. I'll wait until it turns up for six quid in MVE.

The vinyl version was $27 for me.

Aye this is expensive

14 quid post free on Amazon UK. Nowt expensive about that

oh thats ok

Ten quid used on Amazon innit. Already! There'll be plenty more where that came from.

WTF is your problem?

Big sigh here at Amazon's ridiculous pricing, as almost always. Nothing to do with Swans. Depresses and frustrates me ferociously.

Go on? Used and new prices from sellers on Amazon can often be the best deal around, unless something is rare and only asshats have copies listed.

Briefly... it is far too cheap for any other retailer to compete with price-wise. When one accounts for dealer price, VAT and the price of postage, there is no profit to be made by a retailer on a sale at that price.

This is a persistent issue and I think that it is a bad thing in the long term, even if a low price may be appealing to one as a consumer in the short term. I see it potentially leading to nothing but operations on the scale of Amazon being able to really survive.

well people will always buy the cheapest they can find. Moneys tight for the 99%!

True, though many of those retailers list inventory (or should) on amazon for international sales, and Amazon will give you a credit towards every order you get. The store I worked at would be out of business if it weren't for Amazon sales.

And I suppose Marcello wants more cd's for his fifty quid.

Evan, the shop krakow works for does.

Oh OK.

What krakow is saying is that they get screwed over by amazons pricing which means people order from them instead of the shop. They have an unfair advantage over the small record shops.

Yes, I see that is very true. Unfortunately though unless you are in Brooklyn or something participating seems to me to be the only way to stay afloat.

Sorry, I'm loathe to appear to duck out, but I think I'm too tired to really get into all this now. Makes me feel depressed, frustrated and hopeless. Should discuss it on another thread really too, as it's definitely not a Swans-specific issue. I am eager to talk about it though and hope that I don't appear too much like a sanctimonious ass.

mine came today, going straight into the car stereo for repeated listening

― sleeve, Thursday, August 30, 2012 3:03 PM (6 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

swans in the car is the best

― ayonanas (Matt P), Thursday, August 30, 2012 3:11 PM (6 days ago)

my first listen was on a rainy nighttime drive from PVD to NJ, it was epic.

for fun I reordered the tracks to follow the vinyl sequencing, I've been enjoying the flow of the album a lot more that way. makes me wonder why the CD tracks aren't in the vinyl order.

also been working on a 50 minute streamlined remix, interesting how easy it is to edit and rearrange the song parts, it's like a swans lego set.

the only problem with this album is that its too long for the busy times i (we?!) live in

Working my way through this and really enjoying it, but was struck by the way that Gira's voice has changed over the last ten years - it's a more fragile instrument than before, slightly thinner and cracked (which is understandable, given all the touring that Swans/Gira do.) A few years ago I saw a Gira/Akron Family gig which ended with MG performing Dylan's 'Pity the Poor Immigrant', and there's something Dylanesque about the slow ruination of Gira's vocal chords - a parallel increased in my mind by Dylan having a new album at the same time, with some pretty long songs on it too.

I think there's some intension in the way he uses the higher part of his voice now- on the recent live version of "Sex God Sex" on We Rose From Our Beds, his pentacostal bellowing is strong. I hear a lot of Damo Suzuki in the vocals here, particularly at the end of the title track.

Anyone seen the DVD yet? I've received one with the DVD missing, a mail to YGR has been sent :-(

I do feel so cheated that i was forced into spending £20 on 2 hours of amazing music and a further 2 hours of live DVD from just about the best live band there is. Get a grip!

Ive yet to watch the DVD though, all viewing time has gone on 70s cult british stuff im cutting up for a project and I wanted to actually get a handle on the album first. Also want to dedicate an evening to it, get the projector hooked up to our stereo so i can give it the full on living room cinema treatment rather than huddled in bed with a laptop like 90% of the rest of the crap i have time to watch

here's my 46 minute remix/remux/reedit of the seer for folks who don't have two hours to spare

Swans - The Seer Retracts
1) The Wolf
2) The Apostate Recants
3) A Piece of a Piece of the Sky
4) Lunacy
5) The Seer Returns
6) The Mother of the Seer
7) The World
8) Avatar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAIQDTjdogw

Realised that both
a) Amazon was doing the deluxe set more cheaply
and B)Gira is running everything on the money he is making on selling cds.

So its not like it was a major label that you could get a discount on & not have the company making a loss/unable to afford future projects.

Sounds like Gira is having to cut down on other artists on the label already since his attention is on running the band again. SO hoping that people are buying from the label.

amazon (at least in the US) is selling the special edition for $24.45 and they are out of stock

amazon (at least in the US) is selling the special edition for $24.45 and they are out of stock
--vincent black shadow giallo (Edward III)

They were selling for $14 a few days ago.

I'll buy it next week at the show unless they price it stupidly high.

pretty sure that's the regular edition (tho they have it labeled as "special edition")

xp

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/edwardiii/amazon_seer.jpg

Bought the Special Edition at Other Music for 20.99.
The regular went for 16.99.

Pretty fair prices me thinks?

Hmmn weirdly the $24.45 one sez it's only one disc and the $13.60 sez it's two?!!?!

yeah I think their listings are all fucked up

if you look at the other sellers for the $24 one they explicitly say its the one w/ the DVD (at least they did last week)

I was looking at the .co.uk after having bought it at the Young God site when I noticed. & I assumed Special edition meant the same thing it did at the YG site.
Well I've got a signed edition for a few quid more & there will be more SWANS if he can afford it I presume.

I am hoping my missed post this morning is the YGR delivery.

yeah, was hoping I'd get mine today. Hopefully Monday. Dunno how long it takes to get here.

here's my 46 minute remix/remux/reedit of the seer for folks who don't have two hours to spare

awesome! can't wait to listen to this when i get home

i finally ordered mine, but must admit that i torrented the whole thing, too, because i wanted to listen to it repeatedly before they play here in SF on Monday.

i'm not trying to be combative, but why order online when you could buy from a record store? they can order stuff too and you don't have to pay (or wait!) for shipping. and you can buy it from a real live human being.