“Love of Life” by Swans is their eighth studio album, following their successful mix of gothic rock and folk with “White Light From the Mouth of Infinity.” It was released around a year after “White Light,” continuing the band’s creative comeback with a much darker tone behind its sound and lyrics.
Take the opening title track. It still has that pummeling gothic sound that is drowned in reverb, but it feels a lot more subdued and downcast compared to the prior album’s “Better Than You,” a track that pushes you straight into the mood instrumentally and lyrically.
Oftentimes, these tracks contain a single melody that repeats consistently, allowing the viewer to become more invested in the track through its repetitivity. This is a very common Swans motif that makes a lot of the best moments on the album.
“The Golden Boy That Was Swallowed by the Sea” and “The Other Side of the World” are more radiant sounding songs that are slow, but consistently push a sense of euphoria with every repeat of the melody. Jarboe Devereaux, a prominent member of Swans at the time of this album, even takes the lead on vocals on “The Other Side,” who sounds very beautiful and calming while accompanying one of the most soothing instrumentals on this entire album.
Her other track, “She Cries (For Spider)” is also a standout moment on a track, and one of the most beautiful moments on the album. The instrumental on here is stunning, with drums soaked in reverb and an accompanying piano mixing with the choir-like vocals and ecstatic guitar strumming in the background
As stated earlier though, this album takes a less peaceful turn into their gothic rock sound. Tracks like “Amnesia” and “In the Eyes of Nature” instrumentally are much more suspenseful, even stripping away the profound anger that tracks like “Better Than You ” and “You Know Nothing” had on “White Light.”
“Amnesia” specifically contains the most intense Swans instrumental in this gothic era, with its rolling drum lines and low guitar and bass tone, and Michael Gira’s brooding vocals leading the way.
Lyrically, this album can dig into deeper topics as well. “God Loves America,” for instance, sees Gira discussing the state of America, with how its media can glamorize celebrity and love culture, distracting from the real issues, such as the disconnect between younger citizens fighting for older politicians to survive, with nothing given back to them or the rest of the American people. This track feels very foreboding, and especially ahead of its time.
The outro to the album, “No Cure For the Lonely,” ends off the album with a miserable feeling, with its lyrics pertaining to an ending relationship. Gira sings from the perspective of someone who is devastated by it being split off, discussing his need for this person, and questioning how he can even live without them, his only solution being to burn away the memories with them.
“Love of Life” also has several short untitled interludes that smoothly transition after the ends and beginnings of certain songs. These mostly are under a minute long, and mainly are bits of field recordings and odd instrumentals.
While their additions to the album itself are a bit confusing, they do foreshadow how Swans would create and structure their tenth studio album, “Soundtracks For the Blind,” where its central themes are tied together by audio collages and field recordings from various points in the band’s lifetime up to that point.
“(—) Pt. 3” is my favorite interlude out of the bunch by far, as it sounds like something far different than what Swans usually creates.
While the album still has fantastic moments sprinkled throughout, as an album experience, “Love of Life” ends up being less memorable than “White Light,” as its darker tone feels a little more bland at points. However, lots of tracks on their own do stand out, as Swans had continued their gothic rock and folk sound even further. I would give this album a 7/10.