Swans – Leaving Meaning.

No one does vinyl packaging and design like Michael Gira. Flawless.

Didn't realize there was hate for this album. I knew there was some backlash, mainly due to M. Gira being thrown #MeToo accusations against him, but I find it funny that the following Swans album after this has gotten thunderous praise, whereas this one still stays in the shadows. It may be the fact that I was credited as one of the executive producers on the album or that it was being produced and released during a transitional point in my life, but Leaving meaning can eat The Beggar's breakfast, lunch and dinner for all I care, because it simply is their best album in my opinion.

No Swans album sounded as good as this, production-wise. I have yet to hear The Beggar on a proper sound system, but with headphones it didn't sound as crisp as Leaving meaning. Get that? Swans, the abrasive rock band, put out an audiophile record in 2019.

Toshiba HD-A1 > Technics SH-8020 > Yamaha MX-35 > 2x Design Acoustics PS-10s

Diet Swans. It's Fucking Great.
Diet Swans. It's Fucking Great.

To be honest, I still don't understand why tracks on the vinyl release have been edited for length. Yes, I know that the best running time for one side of vinyl is about 20 minutes (there's tons of opinions about that - one will say 15-17 minutes, other - 20 minutes and other - 22 minutes) but I know records with much longer runtime and they sound great! The longest one in my collection is Bathory's "Nordland II" which runs over 36 minutes (!) on side B and it's metal music. Of course, it's quieter than the CD version but still it sounds very, very good! In case of "Leaving Meaning", the longest run without editing the length could've been somewhere around 26-27 minutes which is completely normal. I can understand the different sequencing (SWANS songs are really "pain in the ass" to fit them on vinyl) but edited length? Why? Because of that, one track is absent on "Leaving Meaning", "The Beggar" is not complete on vinyl and has a totally different sequencing etc. I know that Michael hates vinyl and always preferred CD's but c'mon...

What is this?
An excellent record in all aspects.
My favourite with soundtracks for the blind.
Thank you Michael Rolfe Gira.

My copy is very very warped, however plays near perfectly

ittedly I don't usually follow Swans’ career very closely but something about this album really stood out to me. There’s an element of their gloomy brand of post-punk at play but somehow it’s optimistic too, like the first sign of morning after a long, dark night.

probably my favourite record in of packaging!!! everything screams quality, feels nice and the actual record sounds sick!!!

Great album and my favorite Swans record since "My Father Will Guide" but only when listening to on vinyl. The vinyl track sequence flows great and makes a really solid album. The digital version has a different track sequence that makes no sense (to me) and somehow makes the album a lot more boring. The Young God vinyl sounds beautiful. Proper production, mastering, and pressing that you don't get with any major label vinyl.

Really good pressing. Such a great crisp sound and the production is outstanding on this record. Big piece of work to take in but worth the trip