albums i listened to in november!

welcome! i decided to (maybe) start doing blog entries where i write down my thoughts on albums i've listened during the past month in a quick, bite-sized manner. 

(since november was such a busy month, i sadly didn't get to listen as many new records as i wished to, but i still loved the ones i got to discover!)

Swans - Filth

Swans -The Great Annihilator

Big Black - Atomizer

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - The Good Son

favorite tracks: stay here, big strong boss, weakling 

as a confession, i must say that before i listened to swans i had known about them for a long time, but because of the sheer size of their discography, and the praise they have received, i was a little intimidated by the idea of getting into them- maybe because of me not knowing where to start. this album was my first introduction to the band and i was very surprised in the best way possible; an album which through its repetitive bass lines, clanking percussion and buzzing, abrasive guitar, manages to exude pure rawness, hatred and corrosion. filth represents just that. with it sounding like being inside a gigantic, dark and desolate factory, there’s a certain disorienting feeling ingrained in it; gira’s vocals yell a message of pure nihilism and hatred towards society and the greed and selfishness which plagues it- yet, assaulting, he commands you to continue this behavior. 

despite being into it, i must say that it did take me a couple of listens to appreciate it fully- the repetitiveness of it did put me off at first, but i’ve grown to love it with time. 

favorite tracks: i am the sun, celebrity lifestyle, mother_father, killing for company, telepathy 

possibly my favorite album on this list, this was such a strong jump from a harsher sounding swans to a softer, more "accessible" one; i'm struggling to find the words to describe just how much i loved this album (can you tell this is my first time doing something like this?), the atmospheric, silky and  desolate feeling that engulfs this release -and that feels accentuated in tracks such as killing for company, mother's milk and she lives- feels rivalred at times with the more movy-er tracks like mother_father and i am the sun -which also manage to replicate that feeling of something grand that filth has, although on a more organic and velvety manner rather than a mechanical one- yet they still manage to fit perfectly within the album. despite its disturbing subject matter, killing for company was probably my favorite track among the sixteen. the sheer yearning and loneliness in gira's voice, jarboe's background vocals and each instrument make up such a haunting song when paired together; i can’t wait to delve deeper into swans’ discography, and keep getting blown away. 

 Atomizer by Big Black 

favorite tracks: big money, kerosene, fists of love, bazooka joe 

my first big black album! yayy! despite this not being my first introduction to the band, as i had grown obsessed with precious thing from songs about fucking a few months back, i still greatly enjoyed this record. abrasive and mean, yet still being incredibly catchy at times, atomizer is packed to the brim with energy and an edginess only present in an angsty teenager’s mind; the entire album feels like taking a ride while high on adrenaline, while the noise and that unique, scraping guitar tone make you feel like you’re getting a hole drilled into your skull- especially on tracks such as stinking drunk and passing complexion, where the grating gets accentuated and it feels much more sludgier. overall, an incredibly solid and manic noise-rock record.  

 The Good Son by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds 

while i’ve been familiar with nick cave’s work for almost the entirety of my life, as my parents are huge fans of him, i surprisingly had never sat down and actually listened to an album of his in its entirety- and i’m glad that changed. the good son takes you on a sorrowful journey, albeit a beautiful one; even if the album felt a bit weak at times, it wasn’t bad to the point where i couldn’t enjoy or appreciate it- and despite this, its lovely instrumentation, cave’s rich voice, and charming arrangements, give the album a gentle yet grand finish. i’ll definitely give it another listen to it in its entirety, along with other albums from this band.