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- Summary: The latest full-length release from experimental rock band Swans was written mostly during its 2023-24 tour and it was announced the band's sound would be in "significantly pared down form" after this album.
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- Record Label: Young God Records
- Genre(s): Alternative/Indie Rock
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Score distribution:
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Positive: 8 out of 8
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Mixed: 0 out of 8
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Negative: 0 out of 8
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Jun 5, 2025Birthing feels, in a romantic way, like both an ending and a beginning. An exceptional album from an exceptional collective, led by one of the most powerful songwriters of the past 40 years.
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Jun 3, 2025With Birthing, it flat-out demands your complete willingness to enter the void. And yet, rather than sounding drained or diminished by that darkness, Swans remain astonishingly vital 17 albums into their career.
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Jun 3, 2025Despite running for over 2 hours, the album feels notably succinct, even concise.
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UncutJun 3, 2025He makes exultant use of his fellow musicians' capabilities to go out on a demented cultish high. [Jul 2025, p.36]
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Jun 11, 2025It’s not an album you listen to so much as one you submit to, like an exorcism. Like every Swans record, this one’s about stamina.
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Classic Rock MagazineJul 18, 2025Although lacking the shock of the new, Birthing is a far more thematic and aurally darning meditation than most. [Aug 2025, p.74]
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Jun 13, 2025Essentially, it's not that far off from The Glowing Man, which means that it's familiar territory for anyone who has spent time with the band's albums or experienced their concerts, but it's still an incredibly powerful record.