Since Michael Gira resurrected his decades-old project Swans in 2010 and started putting out records and playing shows again, it seems like every release ups the ante on how brutal the band can sound, as though each year is a race against time to see if they can produce music that actually and physically slaps you in the face, much like Gira often slaps himself in the face on stage while performing. They've got a new record coming out August 28 called The Seer, and a ten-minute clip from the album premiered today on Pitchfork. A song like "The Apostate" reminds us Swans isn't exclusively about anger; it's a psycho song, no doubt, but there's also something meditative about it, if that's even possible, a groove and repetition of dinging percussion and guitars that a monk might listen to while contemplating self-immolation.
Download: Swans, "The Apostate"
