Cop

by Swans

Cop cover art
  • Type: Album
  • Released: 1984
  • Label: K.422
  • Country: United States
  • Length: 40:42
  • Community rating: 3.63/5 from 18 ratings

Artists on this release: Roli Mosimann, Michael Gira, Norman Westberg, Harry Crosby

Album Notes & Community Reviews

Building upon the sound of their debut, 'Cop' intensifies the band's brutalist approach through slower tempos, abrasive textures, and tape loops. Lyrically, the album explores ambiguous themes of physical and sexual domination and submission, cementing its reputation as one of the darkest and most confrontational recordings of the era. A landmark of noise rock and industrial music, the album's extreme sound proved highly influential on subsequent artists in the sludge and industrial metal genres.

Genres

Descriptors: hostile, slow, abrasive, bleak, confrontational, noisy, repetitive, DIY, loud, distorted, dissonant

Tracklist

  1. Half Life (04:18)
  2. Job (04:45)
  3. Why Hide (05:50)
  4. Clay Man (05:05)
  5. Your Property (04:46)
  6. Cop (06:47)
  7. Butcher (04:01)
  8. Thug (05:10)

Credits

  • Michael Gira - vocals, tapes, production
  • Harry Crosby - bass guitar
  • Norman Westberg - guitar
  • Roli Mosimann - drums, production
  • Lee Ranaldo - sleeve back cover photography
  • Jonathan Thayer - engineering
  • JG Thirlwell - engineering
  • Mark Berry - engineering
  • Harry Lombardy - engineering
  • Voco - engineering

More from Swans: full discography