Soundtracks for the Blind

Infobox Album
Name = Soundtracks for the Blind
Type = Double album
Artist = Swans


Released = 1996
Recorded =
Genre = Experimental, Post-Rock, Art rock, Minimal, Ambient
Length = 141:37
Label = Atavistic Records
Producer =
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:2n8j1vfozzca link]
Last album = "Failure/Animus" (1996)
This album = "Soundtracks for the Blind" (1996)
Next album = "Swans Are Dead" (1998)

"Soundtracks for the Blind" is the final studio album by Swans. It was released as a double-CD in 1996. "Soundtracks for the Blind", intended, as suggested by the title, to function as a sort of "soundtrack for a non-existent film", is by far Swans' longest and most varied studio effort. The album showcases various musical styles, ranging from stark, nearly gothic minimalism ("Empathy", "All Lined Up"); to epic compositions in the vein of Glenn Branca ("Helpless Child"); musique concrète ("The Beautiful Days"); cinematic post-rock as later popularised by Godspeed You! Black Emperor ("The Sound"); EDM ("Volcano"); ambient music ("Surrogate Drone", "Red Velvet Corridor"); and even punk rock (the live track "Yum-Yab Killers"). Due to the extreme diversity and sudden shifts of musical style, "Soundtracks for the Blind" could be compared to Faust's "The Faust Tapes", although the general mood of the album is far more consistent and less random than the latter.

Track listing

Disc one (silver)

# "Red Velvet Corridor" – 3:04
# "I Was a Prisoner In Your Skull" – 6:39
# "Helpless Child" – 15:47
# "Live Through Me" – 2:32
# "Yum-Yab Killers" – 5:07
# "The Beautiful Days" – 7:49
# "Volcano" – 5:18
# "Mellothumb" – 2:46
# "All Lined Up" – 4:48
# "Surrogate 2" – 1:52
# "How They Suffer" – 5:52
# "Animus" – 10:41

Disc two (copper)

# "Red Velvet Wound" – 2:02
# "The Sound" – 13:11
# "Her Mouth Is Filled With Honey" – 3:19
# "Blood Section" – 2:39
# "Hypogirl" – 2:44
# "Minus Something" – 4:14
# "Empathy" – 6:45
# "I Love You This Much" – 7:23
# "YRP" – 7:47
# "Fan's Lament" – 1:28
# "Secret Friends" – 3:08
# "The Final Sacrifice" – 10:27
# "YRP 2" – 2:09
# "Surrogate Drone" – 2:06

External links

* [http://www.swans.pair.com/DISCOGRAPHY/soundtracks.html Swans official website - Soundtracks for the Blind]