''Cop'' is the second studio album by 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, wit ...

band Swans. It was released in 1984 through record label K.422.

Background and composition

On ''Cop'', Swans took the style of their previous LP, 1983's ''

Filth Filth or The Filth may refer to: Common uses * Dirt, unclean matter * Police officer, a pejorative in British slang Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Filth'' (film), a 2013 film based on the novel * ''Filth'', an alternative title for '' ...

'', and intensified it, utilizing slower tempos, more tape loops, and even more abrasive musical textures. The lyrics are again concerned with ambiguous themes like physical, often sexual domination and occasionally submission. Some publications recognize ''Cop'' as Swans' darkest, most brutal release.

Release

In 1984, ''Cop'' was released through K.422 as Swans' second album. Initially, the album was only available as an LP. Throughout the band's history, though, ''Cop'' has been reissued within a number of different compilations. It was remastered by band leader

Michael Gira Michael Rolfe Gira (; born February 19, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter, composer, author and artist. Now based in New Mexico, he founded the band Swans, in which he sings and plays guitar, in New York City in the 1980s at the height of ...

in 1992 for release on CD along with the '' Young God'' EP (1984) appended as bonus tracks. The 1999 double disc reissue ''Cop/Young God / Greed/Holy Money'' combines ''Cop'' and ''Young God'' with the compilation ''Greed/Holy Money'' (itself compiled from the albums ''

Greed Greed (or avarice, ) is an insatiable desire for material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions) or social value, such as status or power. Nature of greed The initial motivation for (or purpose of) greed and a ...

'' (1986) and ''

Holy Money ''Holy Money'' is the fourth studio album by American experimental rock band Swans. It was released in March 1986, through record label K.422. The album was recorded in the same sessions as " Time Is Money (Bastard)", " A Screw", and ''Greed' ...

'' (1986)). The packaging for all issues states that the recording is "designed to be played at maximum volume".

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

critic Ned Raggett wrote of the album, "Ugly, compelling and overpowering, ''Cop'' remains the pinnacle of Swans' brutal early days", calling it "quite possibly one of the darkest recordings ever done." Later writing for ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

'', Raggett continued praising ''Cop'', recognizing it as the source of other bands like

Godflesh Godflesh are an English industrial metal band from Birmingham. The group formed in 1982 under the original title O.P.D. (later Fall of Because) but did not release any complete music until 1988 when Justin Broadrick (guitar, vocals, programmi ...

and

The Young Gods The Young Gods are a Swiss industrial rock band from Fribourg, formed in 1985. The original lineup of the band featured singer Franz Treichler, sampler player Cesare Pizzi and drummer Frank Bagnoud. For most of their history, the band mainta ...

. Aaron Lariviere of ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

'' added

Neurosis Neurosis (: neuroses) is a term mainly used today by followers of Freudian thinking to describe mental disorders caused by past anxiety, often that has been repressed. In recent history, the term has been used to refer to anxiety-related con ...

to the list of bands that ''Cop'' helped influence. Miranda Yardley of '' Terrorizer'' wrote, "Michael Gira and co. make music that generates its own gravity well, never more so than here." Jonathan Gold of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' listed ''Cop'' as one of the ten most essential industrial albums.

Accolades

Track listing

Personnel

Swans *

– vocals, tapes,

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 stat ...

* Harry Crosby – bass guitar *

Norman Westberg Norman Westberg (born June 27, 1958) is an American guitarist from Detroit best known for his work with Swans, joining the band for the recording of their 1983 debut album '' Filth'' and appearing on every album except the 1992 album ''Love of Li ...

– guitar * Roli Mosimann – drums, production Additional personnel *

Lee Ranaldo Lee Mark Ranaldo (born February 3, 1956) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known as a co-founder of the rock band Sonic Youth. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked Ranaldo at number 33 on its "Greatest Guitarists of All Time" li ...

– sleeve back cover photography * Jonathan Thayer –

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

JG Thirlwell James George Thirlwell (born 29 January 1960), styled as JG Thirlwell and also known as Clint Ruin, Frank Want, and Foetus, among other pseudonyms, is an Australian musician, composer, and record producer known for Juxtaposition, juxtaposing a ...

– engineering * Mark Berry – engineering * Harry Lombardy – engineering * Voco – engineering

Charts

References

{{Authority control Swans (band) albums 1984 albums Noise rock albums by American artists No wave albums Albums produced by Michael Gira Albums produced by Roli Mosimann