POST ROCK/MATH ROCK

This is a good Swans album. Well, I don't think Swans has made a truly great album since The Seer in 2012. That said, The Healers isn't a great album either. Swans has a vast discography that spans from excellent to mediocre, but they've usually managed to maintain a consistently high musical standard. Released in 2025, The Healers is the 17th studio album from this avant-garde band from New York.

In recent years, Swans has evolved into a more experimental ambient project, leaving behind the grand scale and intensity that once defined their sound something I personally don't appreciate as much. Their music now draws comparisons to Dead Can Dance, which isn't necessarily a bad direction, but it feels as though some of their former unpredictability and raw energy have been subdued. The last few albums tend to explore similar sonic territory, circling a meditative atmosphere that, while deliberate, can feel creatively static. Of course, Swans is still an avant-garde, experimental post-rock/punk band at heart, and this could be seen as part of an ongoing artistic search.

Looking back at their recent releases To Be Kind (2014), The Glowing Man (2016), Leaving Meaning (2019), and The Beggar (2023). Birthing may be the most immersive and focused of them all. It leans fully into ambient textures, with hypnotic melodies and rich sonic layers that pull the listener into new emotional territory for the band. It doesn't carry the same explosive force as their earlier work, but it opens a quieter, more introspective chapter that feels genuine.

Birthing is a good album. It's not what Swans has accustomed us to, but it's a rewarding and engaging listen. For those willing to embrace the band's ambient evolution, it has plenty to offer.

The soundscapes are as rich and varied as ever, with Birthing and (Rope)Away being standout tracks in an already impressive track list. I am a Tower and Red Yellow are more fun tracks in their sound, with Tower having a very groovy collection of progressions. Red Yellow has a very fun backing vocal track disorienting the listener from Gira's performance, which I honestly wish was a tiny bit longer. I was initially iffy on Healers but the track has grown on me with repeat listens. It's not a standout hit like Lunacy on Seer, but it's still good. The Merge is sonically delightfully bonkers, with device tampering getting injected into the soundscape.

As for the thematic content, the album is oddly enough about motherhood. This is very likely a callback to Soundtracks for the Blind, which dealt with maternal neglect from the pov of the child, along other depressing matters. This time around many of the tracks are sung from the mother's perspective, acknowledging their shortcomings and absence in their children's life. My read is that this is partially a way for Gira to confront and process his mother's alcoholism now that he's a parent himself. Considering this is Gira's last album as lead producer, the bookending parallel themes to Soundtracks are very appropriate.

While it's not as moving as the 2012-2016 albums, it's still a very worthwhile experience.

The sharp contrasts between quiet playing, an aspect of this band's music that has been explored thoroughly and excellently, and the dynamic, instant jabs of aggressive playing are what drive the songs on here; there is a genuine, sheer intensity to the music of this young band, which makes BCNR one of the really inventive contemporary acts hailing from the UK. The absurdity of the lyrics and the vocal delivery remain one of the distinctive features of the album, which also exhibits neuroticism, indulgence and compulsion in large amounts. Instrumental opener track is a nice and quirky piece that sets a daring, atmospheric and somewhat dissonant tone, followed by the surrealist rocker 'Athens, France', the first real taster of the group's peculiarities in terms of singing and instrumentation. The mellow, pensive ending of this song gives way to the distressful 'Science Fair', one of the more chaotic numbers on here, a song that can become overbearing and overindulgent at times. Yet among all this clatter, the listener will catch the brilliant post-rock riffing and distorted compulsions, which can be sufficiently adventurous and experimental here, among all the recognizable rock tropes. Then the second half of the record goes into a jazzier direction, as the band explores more unconventional song structures, rhythms and tempo changes, depicted perfectly by the 10-minute centerpiece 'Sunglasses'. 'Track X' has a more somber, pensive mood to it, while the closing 'Opus' is a technical onslaught that finishes off brilliantly this noisy, experimental album. Just a brilliant first idea of Black Country, New Road - as manic as their music can get, there are a lot of subtle elements here that contribute to the overall consistency of the album, one of the best debuts of the 2020s.

The rhythms are consistently the drivers here, accompanied by generally scant, almost minimalist guitar and keyboard touches best acquitted in "Gobekle Tepi", with "Baghdad's Battery" ,"Tunguska Part 1", and "Giza" being nearly of comparable standard. The keys often serve as another base instrument in that sense. Sound effects include canines, insects and human voices sans substrate, which form and dissolve as phantoms. Unfortunately one track ("The Kadath") is essentially a drum solo with equally atonal diversions, and "Ek Balam" is a failed attempt at weaving Frippian lead guitar into the end product.

While its legend is modest, I still recommended "Carta.." for those who enjoy post rock and world music and are tired of being force fed clumsy takes of both.

Their 2024 debut EP initially left me with mixed feelings. It felt somewhat unfinished, and I was left wanting more. However, with this 2025 release, I've come to better understand and appreciate their approach. While the core of the album still revolves around the material from the previous EP, the reordering of the tracks, the addition of new compositions, and the overall cohesion give it a new meaning and a much stronger impact.

Yes, part of me would have preferred a completely new release but the way they've recontextualized their earlier work, complemented by new pieces like Campana di Legno and Trappola per Topi, makes for a compelling and unique listening experience.

Musically, the album moves seamlessly between heavy doom metal passages, intense dissonance, and the sharp clarity of math metal. It's an impressive balancing act that demonstrates creativity and technical skill.

Zio Crocifisso has delivered a fascinating and bold album another strong entry in what's shaping up to be an extraordinary 2025 for progressive music.

Well-Produced Emptiness

Even In Arcadia is one of those albums that, on paper, should be huge ? a mix of hip hop, R&B, trap, pop, djent, atmospheric textures, and a vocalist with a super distinctive voice. It all sounds ambitious, but the execution ends up feeling like a mash-up of the most overused elements from each genre, without that "something" to make it stand out.

From the start, the album shows its cards: smooth beats, tightly processed guitars, familiar melodies and vocal tricks. But as it goes on, the whole thing starts to drag. I honestly struggled to finish it. Not because it's "bad", but because it just feels empty. There's a constant emotional disconnect, a lack of soul ? especially compared to the last record, where every song felt like a personal confession.

Vessel is still a talented performer, no doubt, but here his vocals fall into the same patterns ? melodically and lyrically. The autotune and heavy vocal processing don't help either. Instead of adding emotion, they end up hiding it. And it's not like autotune is the enemy ? when used intentionally, it can actually work ? but here it feels more like a stylistic crutch than a creative choice that gives weight to the music.

There are moments ? some instrumental bits, cool harmonies, nice vocal lines ? where you feel like something great could happen. But it doesn't. The ideas just float there, unresolved and undeveloped. They get lost in predictable song structures or get buried under layers of production that don't let the music breathe.

The lyrics, meanwhile, aim for something honest and personal, but too often end up sounding like a string of social-media-ready one-liners. It feels more preachy than cathartic, and doesn't really connect with the music in a meaningful way.

Even In Arcadia isn't a trainwreck, but it is a letdown. A collection of nice little fragments with no clear direction, watered down. It tried to do too much, but in the end, it leaves you with almost nothing.

Music: ★

Lyrics: ★★

Execution: ★★★

Emotion: ★

Production: ★★★★

Artwork: ★

Average: ★★