Album

Soundtracks For The Blind

Swans

1996 · Electronic, Rock

18 collectors on Gatefold own this

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Soundtracks For The Blind by Swans

Soundtracks For The Blind is an Alt/Indie album by Swans, originally released in 1996. On Gatefold: 13 pressings tracked, owned by 18 collectors.

About

Noise-rock behemoths Swans’ final record of the 20th century—they would go dark for the next 14 years—broke sharply with the rest of their ’90s output, in part because it’s essentially a Michael Gira solo project. Far from its pummeling predecessors, this ambitious double album is a fever dream of electronic sketches interwoven with found sounds and Dictaphone remnants. Bits of full-band jams and cacophonous live scraps peek through the fog, only to be swallowed up by the ambient swirl. Swans’ most experimental project, it’s a heady, enveloping listen, while the odd rave-up—like “Blood Section,” jet-engine loud—reminds us that they’re among the world’s heaviest.

via Apple Music

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Tracklist

  1. 1Red Velvet Corridor3:05
  2. 2I Was a Prisoner In Your Skull6:39
  3. 3Helpless Child15:47
  4. 4Live Through Me2:31
  5. 5Yum-Yab Killers5:07
  6. 6The Beautiful Days7:49
  7. 7Volcano5:19
  8. 8Mellothumb2:45
  9. 9All Lined Up4:48
  10. 10Surrogate 21:51
  11. 11How They Suffer5:52
  12. 12Animus10:43
  13. 2.1Red Velvet Wound2:02
  14. 2.2The Sound13:11
  15. 2.3Her Mouth Is Filled With Honey3:18
  16. 2.4Blood Section2:39
  17. 2.5Hypogirl2:44
  18. 2.6Minus Something4:14
  19. 2.7Empathy6:45
  20. 2.8I Love You This Much7:23
  21. 2.9YRP7:46
  22. 2.10Fan's Lament1:28
  23. 2.11Secret Friends3:08
  24. 2.12The Final Sacrifice10:27
  25. 2.13YRP 22:09
  26. 2.14Surrogate Drone2:10

Sound DNA

  • Alt/Indie
  • Post-Rock
  • cavernous
  • primal
  • dark

Album notes

Discogs page for these notes (opens in a new tab)

As the liner notes proclaim, this was intended to be "[...] the final Swans studio album".
First press run copies for both the US and European markets were housed in a three panel, rough card stock digipak with embossed front cover. The album has later seen consecutive reissues in jewel case format.
This release saw its first vinyl pressing as a limited edition boxed set in 2018. A second, less elaborate, unlimited pressing was announced for later the same year, but has not seen realization until 2021.
Also made available on CD the newly remastered recordings saw the album paired with Die Tür Ist Zu, an EP originally produced for the German market, featuring alternate versions of tracks related to this and earlier releases, thus constituting the Soundtracks For The Blind / Die Tür Ist Zu 3CD compilation.

Credits

The people behind it.

Performers

  • Algis A. KizysFEATURING
  • Clinton SteeleFEATURING
  • JarboeVOICE, KEYBOARDS, SOUNDS, LOOPS VOICE, PERFORMER
  • Kristof HahnFEATURING
  • Larry LaméFEATURING
  • Michael GiraACOUSTIC GUITAR, ELECTRIC GUITAR VOICE, ELECTRIC GUITAR, ACOUSTIC GUITAR, SAMPLER , SOUNDS, LOOPS VOICE, PERFORMER
  • Norman WestbergFEATURING
  • William RieflinFEATURING
  • Joe GoldringBASS GUITAR, ELECTRIC GUITAR BASS, ELECTRIC GUITAR BASS, GUITAR
  • Kris ForceVIOLA
  • Larry MullinsDRUMS, PERCUSSION, VIBRAPHONE
  • VudiACOUSTIC GUITAR, ELECTRIC GUITAR ACOUSTIC GUITAR, GUITAR ELECTRIC GUITAR, ACOUSTIC GUITAR

18 collectors on Gatefold own this · 13 pressings tracked on Gatefold

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