My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky

My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Swans released on September 23, 2010;[2] it was their first studio recording in 14 years. Swans founder Michael Gira funded the recording of this album by creating the limited-edition album I Am Not Insane and chose several collaborators from previous Swans line-ups as well as his side project Angels of Light to record and tour for this album. My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky has received positive critical feedback for the return of Swans as well as the rich spiritual themes of the lyrics.

My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky
Studio album by
Swans
ReleasedSeptember 23, 2010 (2010-09-23)
Recorded2009–2010
GenrePost-rock[1]
Length44:21
LanguageEnglish
LabelYoung God
ProducerMichael Gira
Swans chronology
Forever Burned
(2003)		 My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky
(2010)		 We Rose from Your Bed with the Sun in Our Head
(2012)
Limited deluxe edition
Released in 2010

Recording

In a 2009 interview, Gira hinted at the prospect of resurrecting the Swans project.[3] Later that year, many of the tracks that would appear on My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky were released in demo and acoustic form on I Am Not Insane and sold in order to fund the recording process for this album. Gira handmade 1,000 copies of that album to fund the new Swans recordings.[4] In January 2010, Gira amended the band's Facebook and MySpace to read "SWANS ARE NOT DEAD"—an announcement that the band had been reformed as well as a play on words from Swans' live album Swans Are Dead.

Gira wrote the songs over a three-year period and decided that they were unfit for an Angels of Light album and he wanted to transition back the aggressive sound and "sonic intensity" of Swans;[5] he briefly considered releasing the material as an Angels of Light/Swans split album, but decided against it.[6] After Gira financed the album through sales of I Am Not Insane, he got together a group of musicians to record with him in New York. Each song—with the exception of "You Fucking People Make Me Sick"—was recorded in 12-hour daily studio sessions that culminated in nighttime overdubs.[7]

In deciding to reform Swans, Gira attempted to create a continuity between the band's last studio album—1996's Soundtracks for the Blind—as well as his subsequent work with Angels of Light;[8] for instance, the song "My Birth" includes lyrics written in 1997 originally for Swans.[9] The line-up of Swans that recorded this album features Gira, Christoph Hahn, Phil Puleo, and Norman Westberg from prior Swans releases as well as Gira solo collaborators Thor Harris and Christopher Pravdica; this is the first Swans album that does not feature Jarboe since her debut on 1986's Greed.[9] Gira chose these musicians in part for how they would work together touring to promote this album[10] and has created a distinct sound for Swans, emphasizing rhythm and the interplay between atmospheric instruments such as dulcimer, tubular bells, and vibraphone.[11]

Gira contacted Italian artist Beatrice Pediconi to handle all of the artwork for the album after seeing her pieces in Harper's Magazine. The special edition of the album has a cover that mirrors the album artwork of I Am Not Insane.

Themes

The title of the album comes from the lyrics to a then unreleased Swans song entitled "Oxygen" (which was later released on To Be Kind) that depicts Gira dying and ascending to Heaven[12] and several reviewers have noted spiritual themes on the album.[13] Gira's interest in spirituality developed with this album and his goal was to create music, "to elevate, to make you levitate, almost like having it erase your body and lift you up to Heaven."[14]

Promotion
Swans touring in 2010 to promote My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky

In addition to releasing I Am Not Insane, Gira promoted the album by offering it for free streaming on the Internet,[15] made a demo version of the song "No Words" available on the band's MySpace page,[16] and reorganized Swans for their first tour since 1997.[8] Tour dates were slated to be performed in the United States and Europe, including headlining the Supersonic Festival in October 2010,[17] and Gira intended to tour for 18 months.[9] Gira also remixed the album with the intention of selling that version on tour and through the band's website.[6]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.0/10[18]
Metacritic83/100[19]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[20]
The A.V. ClubA[21]
Drowned in Sound8/10[22]
Mojo[23]
NME9/10[24]
Pitchfork7.7/10[25]
PopMatters9/10[26]
Slant Magazine[27]
Spin8/10[28]
Uncut[29]

My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky is rated an 83 with "universal acclaim" by Metacritic.[19] The A.V. Club gave the album an A, calling it "a leviathan of an album" and commenting on the similarities and differences that this album has with the rest of Swans' catalogue, saying that it "resembles all of Swans' previous work, yet none of it." BBC Music has declared it "a majestic return and, let us hope, a harbinger of more to come."[30] The Big Takeover has remarked that the album "encompasses all of the original band's many moods."[31] The Wire listed My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky as the third best record of 2010 in its annual critics' poll.[32]

Track listing

All songs written by Michael Gira

  1. "No Words / No Thoughts" – 9:24
  2. "Reeling the Liars In" – 2:20
  3. "Jim"[33] – 6:46
  4. "My Birth" – 3:52
  5. "You Fucking People Make Me Sick" – 5:08
  6. "Inside Madeline" – 6:36
  7. "Eden Prison" – 6:03
  8. "Little Mouth" – 4:12

Bonus disc available on the special edition

  1. "Look at Me Go" – 46:07
A collection of studio outtakes mixed into one track

Personnel
Swans
Additional musicians
Technical personnel
  • Beatrice Pediconi – artwork
  • David Perry – layout
  • Kevin S. McMahon – engineering, processing, mixing
  • Jamal Rhue – mastering
  • Brian Carpenter – horns
  • Michael Gira – artwork
  • Jason La Farge – strings, engineering
  • Christoph Hahn – guitar
  • Hunter Hunt Hendrix – guitar
  • Kevin S. McMahon/Marcata Recording – engineering, mixing, mastering

References
  1. "Swans My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky (staff review)". Sputnikmusic. September 21, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  2. "Michael Gira on Swans' My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky". The Quietus. July 30, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  3. "Swans To Reform? Michael Gira Live at the Oxfam Café". Brainwashed. May 3, 2009.
  4. Bilton, Chris (September 29, 2010). "Swans: resurrected by the fans". Eye Weekly. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
  5. Currin, Grayson (September 24, 2010). "Michael Gira and Swans head back into the maelstrom of sound". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
  6. Zivitz, Jordan (September 29, 2010). "The full conversation: Jordan Zivitz and Michael Gira". The Montreal Gazette. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
  7. Gira, Michael (July 30, 2010). "Track-by-track: Michael Gira On Swans' My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky". The Quietus. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  8. Stousy, Brandon (January 11, 2010). "Swans Reforming, Touring, Recording". Stereogum. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  9. Ratliff, Ben (September 16, 2010). "Interview: Michael Gira, musician". The Scotsman. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  10. Robinson, Iann (September 26, 2010). "Swans Frontman Michael Gira (Part 1)". CraveOnline. Archived from the original on September 28, 2010. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  11. Ratliff, Ben (October 11, 2010). "Loud and Middle-Aged, But It's Not a Reunion". The New York Times. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
  12. Robinson, Iann (September 26, 2010). "Swans Frontman Michael Gira (Part 2)". CraveOnline. Archived from the original on April 16, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  13. Arnold, Daniel (October 13, 2010). "Gen F: Swans". The Fader. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
  14. Guthrie, Kayla (October 12, 2010). "The Undertaker: Swans' Michael Gira". Interview. Archived from the original on December 11, 2010. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
  15. Hockley-Smith, Sam (September 20, 2010). "Stream: Swans' Album My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky". The Fader. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  16. Stousy, Brandon (July 21, 2010). "Swans My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky Album Info". Stereogum. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  17. Stousy, Brandon (May 10, 2010). "Swans To Play Brooklyn Masonic Temple". Stereogum. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  18. "My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky by Swans reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  19. "Reviews for My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky by Swans". Metacritic. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  20. Jurek, Thom. "My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky – Swans". AllMusic. Retrieved February 16, 2011.
  21. Heller, Jason (September 21, 2010). "Swans: My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  22. Gardner, Noel (September 20, 2010). "Album Review: Swans – My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  23. "Swans: My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky". Mojo. No. 203. London. October 2010. p. 104. ISSN 1351-0193.
  24. Turner, Luke (September 24, 2010). "Album Review: Swans – My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky". NME. Archived from the original on October 8, 2010. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  25. Harvell, Jess (September 22, 2010). "Swans: My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  26. Beasley, Corey (September 28, 2010). "Swans: My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky". PopMatters. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  27. Cataldo, Jesse (September 19, 2010). "Swans: My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky". Slant Magazine. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  28. Kornhaber, Spencer (September 9, 2010). "Swans, 'My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky' (Young God)". Spin. Archived from the original on September 14, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  29. "Swans: My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky". Uncut. No. 161. London. October 2010. p. 106.
  30. Pattison, Louis (September 13, 2010). "BBC – Music – Review of Swans – My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky". BBC Music. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  31. Toland, Michael (September 20, 2010). "Swans – My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky (Young God)". The Big Takeover. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  32. "2010 Rewind: Records of the Year Top Ten". The Wire. No. 323. London. January 2011. p. 37 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
  33. "Michael Gira On Swans' My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky". The Quietus. July 30, 2010. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
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