New Mother

Angels Of Light | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 28, 1999)
• Original Release Date: April 13, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Young God Records
• ASIN: B00000I8MI
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #235,326 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Evolution of an Incredible Artist, January 29, 2001

By 

Fitness Fan (Fullerton, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: New Mother (Audio CD)

I have sporadically followed Swans for the last several years, experiencing the noise and fury of the early albums to the more intricate, intriguing melodies and sounds of albums such as Omniscience and Soundtracks for the Blind. M.Gira is a talented writer who weaves soundscapes unlike anyone else.

I found out about his newest project by sheer accident. But what a happy accident! I cannot believe the depth of this album. While his images are still difficult and at times brutal, invoking addictions, guilt, shame, and need, they are more intriguing than ever. Perhaps the 'softer' edge to the music makes it that much more stark, without the raging noise to hide the feelings invoked by the lyrics.

The album is reliant on acoustic sounds, sparse and often absent percussion, vibraphones, and backup singing that sometimes seems strangely inappropriate. The songs are dense and complicated. This is not background music. It is music that demands your attention.

I would strongly recommend this album to anyone with an experimental streak, or anyone with an ear for art, rather than product. This is an incredible album that speaks to anyone who will open their minds to hear.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The man with the silver tongue., March 14, 2000

By 

C. Kuhn (West Chester, PA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: New Mother (Audio CD)

If there is any word that must always accompany the name Michael Gira, it is undoubtedly "intensity." His work with the groundbreaking no-wave outfit Swans beside his then-wife Jarboe is still considered some of the most brutal, beautiful music in the world. His most recent albums, The Body Lovers and The Body Haters, respectively, are both lessons in aural pugilistics, but in different senses. And his much discussed collection of anecdotes, Consumer, has been rumored to induce persons of a weaker constitution to vomit. But New Mother is a different story altogether. It displays a fragility that Gira has never before allowed to show through, and the results can be frightening indeed. Gira, much like The The songwriter Matt Johnson, does not hold back in baring his dark, smoky soul to the world; in fact, he seems to revel in it. "Rise above the garbage. Leave me where I fall. Rise above the wreckage. Kill anything that walks," groans Gira on Praise Your Name, to the sound of a delicately played piano and an apocalyptic choir of voices. Don't let the name fool you: this is not easy listening for mothers or angels.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars this is such a great album, May 30, 2005

By 

Justin "human" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: New Mother (Audio CD)

i think this is the best album that Gira has done since Swans, and i suppose it really does live up to what he did in the past. with fifteen songs ranging from quiet to discordant (but never to the degree that some Swans stuff was) the record has variation. the best part of it however is the band in back of Gira, just read the credits list and you'll see how many people were involved with this project, there's accordion, glockenspiel, steel guitar, mandolin(!), dulcimer, banjo, mellotron, B3 organ, double bass, violin, and more in back of Gira. when you hear the way this record is produced you'll understand how well all of these instruments add to the record, it is rather subtle. the song writting is very good on this album, Gira really has reached the level of Dylan and Cohen in my opinion, and it is evident here in each song. my favorite songs are probably Inner Female, which boasts a real thick interesting atmosphere and Forever Yours. Get this is if you are a fan of Michael Gira or similar stuff.