On May 12, the next hefty addition to Swans’ mighty oeuvre, To Be Kind, will arrive courtesy of their new label Mute. To recap, it’s their follow-up to The Seer, The Quietus’ favourite album of 2012, and is another massive proposition, running to over two hours, featuring guests including Little Annie, St. Vincent, Bill Rieflin and label mates Cold Specks and channelling the mesmeric, ritualistic energy of the band’s live shows.
We’ll have an in-depth interview with Swans leader Michael Gira by tQ editor John Doran on the site ahead of the album’s release, but before that, we’re immensely excited to host a first play of ‘Oxygen’, only the second track the band have revealed from the LP (following ‘A Little God In My Hands’), which sees Gira laying down a typically maniacal vocal line over a churn of sharp-edged guitars and drums, working to a frantic, brass-gilded cataclysm – have a listen above, pre-order here and take a look at the band’s upcoming tour dates below:
MAY
Wed 14 – Black Cat Mainstage, Washington DC
Thu 15 – Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA
Sat 17 – Royale Nightclub, Boston MA
Sun 18 – Bowery Ballroom, New York NY
Mon 19 – Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY
Thu 22 – Academy 2, Manchester
Fri 23 – Hoults Yard, Newcastle
Sat 24 – The Arches, Glasgow
Sun 25 – The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen
Tue 27 – Brixton Electric, London
Wed 28 – Trinity Community Arts, Bristol
Thu 29 – Sub89, Reading
Sat 31 – Supersonic Festival – Custard Factory, Birmingham
JUNE
Sun 1 – Cockpit, Leeds
Mon 2 – Concorde 2, Brighton
Tue 17 – Le Cercle, Quebec City, Canada
Wed 18 – Theatre National, Montreal, Canada
Fri 20 – MNW Festival, Toronto, Canada
Sat 21 – St. Andrews Hall, Detroit, MI
Sun 22 – Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL
Tue 24 – The Ready Room, St. Louis, MO
Thu 26 – Trees, Dallas, TX
Fri 27 – Mohawk, Austin, TX
Sat 28 – Fitzgerald’s Upstairs, Houston, TX
Mon 30 – Exit / In, Nashville, TN
JULY
Tue 1 – Neighborhood Theatre, Charlotte, NC
Wed 2 – The New Vintage, Louisville, KY
Thu 3 – Rex Theater, Pittsburgh, PA
Sat 5 – Tralf Music Hall, Buffalo, NY
Sun 6 – Toad’s Place, New Haven, CT
