The Beggar
A heart on a white background
Digital artwork for the album; physical copies come with the heart on a plain brown background
Studio album by
Swans
ReleasedJune 23, 2023
RecordedMay 2 – August 25, 2022
StudioCandy Bomber Studio in Berlin, Germany
GenrePost-rock, Drone[1]
Length121:37
LabelYoung God
ProducerMichael Gira
Swans chronology
Is There Really a Mind?
(2022)		 The Beggar
(2023)
Singles from The Beggar
  1. "Paradise Is Mine"
    Released: March 22, 2023
  2. "Los Angeles: City of Death"
    Released: May 24, 2023

The Beggar is the sixteenth studio album by American experimental rock band Swans. It was released on June 23, 2023, through Young God Records.[2][3] The announcement of the album coincided with the release of its lead single, "Paradise Is Mine", as well as the announcement of a North American tour.[4][5][6] The Beggar was preceded and funded by the acoustic demo album Is There Really a Mind? (2022).[7]

Background

Acoustic renditions of many of the album's then-unfinished tracks, primarily recorded by band leader Michael Gira alone at his home studio, appeared on the demo album Is There Really a Mind? which was released in February 2022.[7] Material for the album was subsequently fleshed out and expanded through recording sessions that began at the Candy Bomber Studio in Berlin on May 2, 2022, and were then finalized that August.[8][9]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Louder Than War[12]
Beats Per Minute90% [13]
The Guardian[14]

Upon its release, The Beggar received mostly positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, it received an average score of 80, based on ten reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[10]

Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Paul Simpson compared it favourably to the band's previous release; "For the most part, The Beggar builds on the sound of leaving meaning., though Gira is clearly interested in pushing the band into weirder territory again," and called it, "a riskier yet more successful effort that feels like a step in a more fulfilling direction."[11]

Track listing

Disc one
No.TitleLength
1."The Parasite"8:21
2."Paradise Is Mine"9:23
3."Los Angeles: City of Death"3:29
4."Michael Is Done"6:08
5."Unforming"5:55
6."The Beggar"10:15
7."No More of This"6:55
8."Ebbing"11:04
9."Why Can't I Have What I Want Any Time That I Want?"7:38
Total length:69:08
Disc two
No.TitleLength
10."The Beggar Lover (Three)"43:51
11."The Memorious"8:38
Total length:52:29

Vinyl edition

All tracks are written by Michael Gira

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Paradise Is Mine"9:23
2."The Beggar"10:15
Total length:19:38
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Los Angeles: City of Death"3:29
2."The Parasite"8:27
3."The Memorious"7:53
Total length:19:49
Side C
No.TitleLength
1."Michael Is Done"6:08
2."Why Can't I Have What I Want Any Time That I Want?"7:41
3."Unforming"6:10
Total length:19:59
Side D
No.TitleLength
1."Ebbing"11:25
2."No More of This"6:55
Total length:18:20

Notes

  • "The Beggar Lover (Three)" is excluded from the vinyl release, save for in the form of a digital download card.[3]

Personnel

Credits adapted from The Beggar digital liner notes and press release.[15][3]

Swans

Other musicians

  • Ben Frost – guitar, synthesizers, sound manipulations
  • Jennifer Gira – backing vocals
  • Lucy Kruger – backing vocals
  • Laura Carbone – backing vocals
  • Norman Westberg - guitar on “Ebbing”

Additional personnel

  • Ingo Krauss – engineering
  • Doug Henderson – mastering
  • Nicole Boitos – artwork

Charts

Chart performance for The Beggar
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[16] 98
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] 37
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[18] 94
Scottish Albums (OCC)[19] 18
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[20] 60
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[21] 8

References

  1. ↑ Christopher Nosnibor (May 22, 2023). "Swans – The Beggar". Aural Aggravation. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  2. ↑ Taysom, Joe (March 22, 2023). "Swans Announce Details of New Album "The Beggar"". Far Out. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 "The Beggar (Pre-Order)". Young God Records. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  4. ↑ Fu, Eddie (March 22, 2023). "Swans Announce New Album The Beggar, 2023 Tour Dates". Consequence. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  5. ↑ Pappis, Konstantinos (March 22, 2023). "Swans Announce New Album 'The Beggar', Release New Song 'Paradise Is Mine'". ourculture. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  6. ↑ H., Rob (March 22, 2023). "Swans Announce New Album and Share Epic Lead Single "Paradise Is Mine"". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  7. 1 2 Kenneally, Cerys. "Swans Launch Fundraiser for 2023 Album with Acoustic Versions of Songs". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Swans on Instagram: "Swans begin recording today."". Instagram. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Swans on Instagram: "Finished mixing the new Swans album. Leaving Kristof's house and Berlin and Johnny says goodbye."". Instagram. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  10. 1 2 "The Beggar by Swans Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  11. 1 2 Simpson, Paul. "Swans - The Beggar Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Swans: The Beggar - review - ALBUM OF THE WEEK!". July 9, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Album Review: Swans – the Beggar". June 29, 2023.
  14. ↑ Simpson, Dave (June 23, 2023). "Swans: The Beggar review – dark and unsettling, purifying and beautiful". The Guardian.
  15. ↑ "The Beggar". Bandcamp. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Swans – The Beggar" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Swans – The Beggar" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  18. ↑ "OLiS - oficjalna lista sprzedaży - albumy" (in Polish). OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Note: Change the date to 23.06.2023–29.06.2023 under "zmień zakres od–do:". Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  21. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
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