The Seer - Swans
User Score
7.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 58 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 47 out of 58
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 58
  3. Negative: 8 out of 58

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  1. mrnice
    Jan 3, 2013
    3
    You could spend two hours with The Beatles or a symphony or an audio book and deduct some reason from the work. You could also look at concrete or black paint for two hours, or listen to Swans' The Seer, which would leave you with nothing. The latter is an evil deed, and the fruit is bitter. Your choice.
  2. Rockman1976
    Dec 7, 2012
    3
    If albums were supposed to be rated by originality this is a "10". It's like anything I ever heard before. However, I picked this albums strictly for the music and this album blows. It tested my limits of patience when I was listening to it in a car - stuck in traffic. There are noises, people screaming, playing flute, harmonica, violin, whistles, bells, and all types of weird instruments. And there is no order in this madness. Just listen to the title track that goes for 32 minutes. From minute 10 to 32 Gira is basically pounding the same chord on his guitar for 22 minutes to get to the violent drum and guitars climax. And after I survived this track and though "it can't get any worse" next track features 2 minutes of rain falling and some people just yelling for 5 minutes. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but music supposed to be fun to listen to. This album is depressing and whatever you do don't play it with your date around, or it's going to be a short date.… Expand
  3. circusmort
    Oct 29, 2012
    4
    The blistering five minute high points don't compensate for the needlessly overlong introductions which encase the real meat of each track. Some bands are meant to do protracted drones and do it well, it seems an ill fit for Swans whose strengths have always been in immediacy and brief interrupts of overwhelming raw power and sheer force. Umagumma on Quaaludes.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
87 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 32 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 32
  3. Negative: 0 out of 32
  1. BBC Music
    Nov 28, 2012
    90
    The Seer might not be the album you spend most time with this year--it's too emotionally demanding for heavy rotation – but it's one you'll be listening to for years to come.
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  2. The A.V. Club
    Oct 11, 2012
    100
    Swans has never traveled a straightforward, clean, or uninterrupted path. But with The Seer, one thing is certain: Even during its quietest lulls, Gira has never sounded louder.
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  3. Delusions of Adequacy
    Sep 20, 2012
    60
    The final impression The Seer left me with is that of a sprawling, lacking in cohesion and over indulgent album that fails as often as it succeeds.
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