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I think My Father Will Guide me up a rope... is a brilliant fucking album. The ranks above To Be Kind for me. Not above the Seer, but that's because the Seer is the real pinnacle of the trilogy. If this incarnation of Swans was to be compared to Chris Nolan's Dark Knight Saga, the Seer would be Fhe Dark Knight.
I've never thought of My Father... as incomplete. Experimental, unprecedented, yeah. At the time of its release, maybe even a little hard to digest or recognize as "proper" Swans. But that's because it was the start of a new era. It was a beautiful risk that worked out perfectly, and helped them home in on the elements that defined their two most celebrated albums to date.
To Be Kind feels a little bit like it could have used some editing. I was moonlighting in a record store when that album came out, and I heard lifelong fans cracking jokes about "Bring the Sun." Great record, but it could have been better.
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