White Light From the Mouth of Infinity
by Swans
- Type: Album
- Released: May 6, 1991
- Label: Young God
- Country: United States
- Length: 1:12:26
- Community rating: 4.43/5 from 24 ratings
Artists on this release: Nicky Skopelitis, Steve Burgh, Anton Fier, Jarboe, Michael Gira, Clinton Steele, Norman Westberg, Kristof Hahn, Jenny Wade, Hahn Rowe, Vincent Signorelli
Album Notes & Community Reviews
Marking a pivotal shift from the band's earlier brutalist sound, 'White Light From the Mouth of Infinity' blends gothic rock, neofolk, and post-punk into densely layered arrangements of acoustic guitars, keyboards, and orchestral textures. Michael Gira’s songwriting explores themes of love, failure, and the sublime, with his dark, crooning vocals counterbalanced by Jarboe's ethereal arrangements and grandiose, anthemic swells. The self-produced album abandoned the overt noise of its predecessors for a more nuanced power, establishing a more complex, melodic, and spiritual direction that would define the second era of the band's career.
Genres
Descriptors: orchestral, funereal, grandiose, bleak, majestic, atmospheric, guitars, choral, melodic
Tracklist
- Better Than You (05:51)
- Power and Sacrifice (05:36)
- You Know Nothing (05:46)
- Song for Dead Time (04:58)
- Will We Survive (05:59)
- Love Will Save You (06:06)
- Failure (06:20)
- Song for the Sun (05:03)
- Miracle of Love (06:43)
- Blind (04:31)
- When She Breathes (04:31)
- Why Are We Alive (06:00)
- The Most Unfortunate Lie (05:02)
Credits
- Michael Gira - vocals, backing vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards, effects, samples, production
- Jarboe - vocals, backing vocals, keyboards, choral and orchestral arrangements
- Christoph Hahn - acoustic and electric guitar
- Clinton Steele - acoustic and electric guitar
- Norman Westberg - electric guitar on "better than you"
- Jenny Wade - bass guitar
- Anton Fier - drums, drum programming
- Nicky Skopelitis - acoustic and electric guitar, baglama, bazouki, banjo
- Vincent Signorelli - percussion
- Hahn Rowe - violin
- Steve Burgh - mandolin, 12-string guitar
- Deryk Thomas - front & back illustrations
- M. Gira - design [packaging], design concept