''White Light from the Mouth of Infinity'' is a studio album by the American

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

band

Swans Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Someti ...

. It was released in 1991, through the record label Young God. The band supported the album with a North American tour. In 2015, it was remastered and made available digitally and in a 3CD (and 3LP) set along with ''

Love of Life ''Love of Life'' is an American soap opera televised on CBS from September 24, 1951, to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation ''Search for Tomorrow'' premiered three weeks before ''Love of Life''; he created ''Th ...

'' and an album of bonus tracks.

Critical reception

The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' wrote that

Michael Gira Michael Rolfe Gira (; born February 19, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, author and artist. He is the main force behind the New York City musical group Swans and fronted Angels of Light. He is also the founder of ...

's "search for heaven and hell—in both mind and body—continues on its fascinating, sometimes harrowing way."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

described the album as "stunning" and a "clear starting point for the second half of Swans' unique career."

Track listing

Personnel

– vocals, backing vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards, effects, samples,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

Jarboe Jarboe Devereaux, known mononymously as Jarboe (), is an American singer and musician who came to prominence as a member of the New York City experimental rock band Swans in 1985. Jarboe and Michael Gira, the founder of Swans, were the two consta ...

– vocals, backing vocals, keyboards, choral and orchestral arrangements * Christoph Hahn – acoustic and electric guitar * Clinton Steele – acoustic and electric guitar *

Norman Westberg Norman Westberg is a guitarist from Detroit best known for his work with Swans. Present through almost the entirety of the band's existence, Westberg was brought on for Swans' debut album ''Filth'' (1983) and appeared on every album through 1991 ...

– electric guitar * Jenny Wade – bass guitar *

Anton Fier Anton Fier (June 20, 1956 – September 14, 2022) was an American drummer, producer, composer, and bandleader. Family Fier, known as Tony, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Ruthe Marie Fier and Anton J. Fier Jr., a former Marine and electrician. ...

– drums, drum programming *

Nicky Skopelitis Nicky Skopelitis (born January 19, 1960) is an American guitarist and composer of Greek descent. He also has performed on banjo, oud, lute, keyboards and other instruments. Although Skopelitis has recorded few albums as a bandleader, he has appea ...

– acoustic and electric guitar, baglama, bazouki, banjo *

Vincent Signorelli Vincent Signorelli is a drummer from New York City. He has toured in clubs throughout the world, primarily with Unsane, NYC's infamous noise rock trio. He has played primarily with Swans, Unsane, and Foetus. Additionally, he has done session ...

– percussion *

Hahn Rowe Hahn Rowe is an American violinist, guitarist, composer, and engineer/producer, involved in a wide range of projects. He also performs using the stage name Somatic. Career Originally a violinist and guitarist with New York City dream pop, dream- ...

– violin * Steve Burgh – mandolin, 12-string guitar * J. G. Thirlwell –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

, re-mix assistance, programming and co-production on "Power and Sacrifice" * Bryce Goggin – engineering * Steve McAllister – engineering, programming (additional) * Deryk Thomas – front cover illustration * John Sarfell – inner sleeve foldout painting * Patricia Mooney – sleeve layout * Brian Martin – re-mixing * Alex Armitage – re-mix assistance

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control Swans (band) albums 1991 albums Young God Records albums Albums produced by Michael Gira