Released 1983 Release date 1983 | Length 36:49 | |
 | ||
Genres No wave, Post-punk, Noise rock, Industrial rock Similar Swans albums, No wave albums, Other albums | ||
Swans filth album review
Filth is the debut album by American experimental rock band Swans. It was released in 1983 by record label Neutral, following the release of their self-titled debut EP.
Contents
Background
Only band leader and vocalist Michael Gira and drummer Jonathan Kane remained from the original lineup of the band.
Filth is the first Swans release to feature the experimental and noisy playing style that the band's early work would become known for. The album's distinct sound is partly the product of a new lineup featuring two drummers (Roli Mosimann and Kane). It also marks the first appearance of future Swans regular Norman Westberg.
Release
Filth was released in 1983 by record label Neutral.
The 1990 CD and audio tape, released under the name Filth (L.P.#1, E.P.#1) 1982/83, featured the four tracks from Swans' first EP as bonus tracks. The order of each side of the Swans EP are reversed on this pressing. The 1990 vinyl re-release preserved the original nine-song track listing.
A double CD re-issue, Filth/Body to Body, Job to Job, was released in 2000 on Gira's label Young God Records. Paired with the B-side collection Body to Body, Job to Job), this pressing of Filth included a 1982/1983 live set from The Kitchen in New York City. This 24:18 long extra track consisted of the songs "Strip/Burn", "Red Sheet", "Blackout", "Clay Man", "Stay Here" and "Weakling". The tracks from the Swans EP were not included.
Filth was reissued on CD, vinyl and digital download formats October 28, 2014. An unofficial repress of the album emerged in 2012, from the record label Neutral. Its inauthenticity has been confirmed by Gira.
Critical reception
In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, music critic Robert Christgau found the album "fun" and described its music as "no wave with five years of practice, too messy for mysticism and too funny for suicide." In its retrospective review, AllMusic wrote, "early Swans really is like little else on the planet before or since." Punknews.org noted in a similar retrospective review "the terrifying level of intense brutality" the album delivered.
Track listing
All lyrics written by Michael Gira; all music composed by Swans (Gira, Jonathan Kane, Roli Mosimann, Norman Westberg, Harry Crosby).
Personnel
Songs
1Stay Here5:35
2Big Strong Boss3:01
3Blackout3:40