Swans: The Beggar review – dark and unsettling, purifying and beautiful
Written during lockdown, the band’s 16th album is full of claustrophobic unease as Michael Gira contemplates life, mortality and the end of existence
November 2020
Solved
All doom and boom: what’s the heaviest music ever made?
From Swans to Sunn O))), heavy music isn’t just about volume – it’s about atmosphere, intent and bowel-rupturing physicality
February 2016
Michael Gira acknowledges 'intimate encounter' with woman who has accused him of rape
Swans' Michael Gira accused of rape by singer Larkin Grimm
December 2015
Enduring Love: why Swans are more vital now than ever
What you should hear this week
Why Swans' White Light from the Mouth of Infinity/Love of Life is the one box set you should hear this week – video
September 2015
FKA Twigs, Skepta and Young Fathers win at AIM awards 2015
Noel Gallagher was the star guest at the awards, which were set up to recognise achievements within the independent music scene
May 2015
30 minutes with …
Swans’ Michael Gira: ‘Audiences would flee ... we took to locking the doors’
Leading the world’s loudest experimental rock band for 33 years has been a ‘total psychic commitment’, as well as tough on the ears. But are there signs the musician is mellowing?
March 2015
Jonny Greenwood, Robert Wyatt and others to write essays for book about creative epiphanies
Stewart Lee and Michael Gira among contributors to forthcoming book Epiphanies: Life Changing Encounters With Music
January 2015
Michael Gira on Swans, religion and the hubris of Matthew Barney
The Swans frontman on why performing is like long-distance running: ‘You keep pushing and pushing and finally you break through into something else’
May 2014
Swans' Michael Gira: 'I am an entertainer'
Swans: To Be Kind review – perfectly listenable swamp blues
March 2014
Michael Gira review – 'Acoustic atonal howls of vengeance, God and suicide'
The Swans singer ranges from bawling death folk to songs about rape, often resembling a monster at an open mic night, but solo his dirges merely drain, writes Mark Beaumont
October 2013
Skye Sherwin: a good look
Skye Sherwin's A Good Look
The Guide's art critic, Skye Sherwin, on a month in pop culture visuals, from Massive Attack to MIA
September 2013
AFL: what we learned this weekend
AFL: five things we learned this weekend
The Swans are a potent threat; Ross Lyon still has a soft spot for the Saints; and Carlton can play finals footy
April 2013
Swans – review
Swans' apocalyptic racket is enough to take your voice away, writes Ian Gittins
March 2013
This week's new live music
Tyler, The Creator | British Sea Power | Swans | Phronesis | The National Youth Jazz Orchestra & Jacqui Dankworth | Royal Opera: Nabucco
August 2012
Swans: The Seer – review
The heaviest band in the world (by some estimations) return with an album that should win them new fans, writes Dave Simpson
March 2012
Swans to release double album, The Seer
Michael Gira says two-hour epic, featuring Karen O and members of Low, is 'the complete synthesis' of his work
October 2010
Swans – review
The atmosphere tonight before the recently reactivated Swans take the stage is not so much anticipation as trepidation, writes Alexis Petridis
