The Swans EP is the first release by the experimental

Experimental music

Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...

 rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 band Swans

Swans (band)

Swans are an influential American post-punk band initially active from 1982 to 1997, led by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira. The band was one of the few groups to emerge from the early 1980s New York No Wave scene and stay intact into the next decade. Formed by Gira in...

.

Although rooted in the no wave

No Wave

No Wave was a short-lived but influential underground music, film, performance art, video, and contemporary art scene that had its beginnings during the mid-1970s in New York City. The term No Wave is in part satirical word play rejecting the commercial elements of the then-popular New Wave genre...

 scene and different from the Swans' forthcoming releases in its prominent use of a saxophonist and relative absence of brutality, the EP remains an intense listen, demonstrating the early stages in the evolution of the violent, repetitious and noisy style that the Swans' earlier releases would become known for. The EP also remains an interesting insight into the roots of experimental noise rock.

The EP was re-EQ'd by M. Gira and S. McAllister, remastered, and appended to the 1990 reissue of the follow-up Filth LP on Gira's own Young God

Young God Records

Young God Records is an independent record label formed by Michael Gira in 1990 that specializes in experimental, avant-garde and often non genre-specific releases...

 label. On the reissue CD the tracks are in a different order; the tracks on each side of the EP are reversed.

Among Swans fans who have heard both releases, it is a widely held belief that the original vinyl mix is far superior to the reissued mix. Unfortunately the original vinyl mix is either lost or has been suppressed from rerelease. The 1990 Filth CD on which the EP was reissued is long out of print. Although Filth was reissued again by Young God in 1999 the EP was not included there, nor has it appeared on any subsequent Young God Records reissue.

Original vinyl track listing

1. "Laugh" – 4:06
2. "Speak" – 4:31
3. "Take Advantage" – 4:29
4. "Sensitive Skin" – 6:16

CD reissue track listing

1. "Speak" – 4:31
2. "Laugh" – 4:06
3. "Sensitive Skin" – 6:16
4. "Take Advantage" – 4:29

Musicians

• Michael Gira
  Michael Gira
  Michael Rolfe Gira is an American musician, author, and artist. He is the main force behind the recently reformed New York City musical group Swans and fronts the Angels of Light...
  
  – bass/vocals
• Jonathan Kane – drums
• Bob Pezzola - guitar
• Daniel Galli-Duani - saxophone