Are you ready to get jacked? Well you better be, because everybody’s favorite pop-punk rascals, The Swans, have been making some news-shaped waves in the internet today. First off, and maybe you already knew this, but the frontman of The Swans, the always dapper and charming Mikey Swan (neé Michael Gira) will be heading out on a month-long tour of the great state of Europe this March. If you’ve somehow stumbled your way into Europe, I’d recommend heading out to take a gander at these shows (dates below).
That’s not all though. Not to be outdone by their prolific pop-punk peers, Green Day, The Swans have announced that they’ve just finished tracking their follow up to 2012’s The Seer (TMT Review) and that they’ll be releasing the new full-length, titled To Be Kind, this spring (May 13 to be exact) on Mikey Swans’ own Young God Records. It’ll be their third since re-activating in 2010, and their 13th overall (that’s of course not counting live albums, such as last year’s sold-out-in-four-days Not Here/Not Now). Though The Swans have been talking about this new full-length for a hot minute and today we found out that St. Vincent and Little Annie are contributing vocals, we still don’t know a ton about it. You can bet, however, that Mikey Swan will be joined by his spunky pals Thor Swan, Christoph Swan, Chris Swan, Phil Swan, and Norman Swan, and that the album will chock-full of the soaring hooks, passionate gang-vocals, and palm-muted guitar breakdowns you’ve come to expect from The Swans.
And, because even the poppiest of punks have a sensitive side, you can also pick up a collection of Mikey’s solo recordings, entitled The Milk of M. Gira: Collected Solo Home Recordings 2001-2010 from the Young God store right now. Collected from limited-release handmade CDs, of these songs Mikey says:
The recordings have been done with one stereo mic on my desk, no overdubs, just a casual performance in my office at home. Most of the songs presented are versions I recorded immediately after writing the song - they’ve also served as demos I can give to the musicians with whom I’m working to develop the material.
The topics covered in these songs include finding a date to the prom, being upset at your friends because they were acting all mature the other night and it was totally not fun, and trying to meet college kids who will buy you beer. You can pick it up here.
Mikey Swan solo dates:
03.06.14 - Madrid, Spain - El Sol
03.07.14 - San Sebastian, Spain - Andia Kuxta
03.08.14 - Barcelona, Spain - Sala Apolo
03.10.14 - Paris, France - TBA
03.11.14 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - MC Theater
03.12.14 - London, UK - Church of St John-at-Hackney
03.14.14 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Hofteatret
03.15.14 - Oslo, Norway - Blå
03.16.14 - Oslo, Norway - Emanuel Vigeland Mausoleum Museum
03.18.14 - Warsaw, Poland - Pardon, To Tu
03.19.14 - Warsaw, Poland - Pardon, To Tu
03.21.14 - St. Petersburg, Russia - Dada
03.22.14 - Moscow, Russia - Teatr Club
03.24.14 - Odessa, Ukraine - Bernardazzi Wine Club
03.26.14 - Bucharest, Romania - Control Club
03.27.14 - Bologna, Italy - Locomotiv
03.28.14 - Milan, Italy - Teatro Dal Verme
03.29.14 - Berlin, Germany - Kantine @ Berghain
• Swans: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Swans/13879391977
• Young God: http://younggodrecords.com
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