Gloria de Oliveira details third album, The Lying Swans

The Lying Swans, produced by Randall Dunn (Anna von Hausswolff, Sunn O))), Marissa Nadler), follows 2022's Oceans of Time made in collaboration with David Lynch's sound designer, Dean Hurley.

“Fading Faces” serves as the album’s entry point, as de Oliveira explains: “This is not only the first single, but also the very first piece of music I wrote when I started working on the album. It was also the first song that Randall Dunn and I later recorded together in Iceland. In many ways, it's the reason the album even exists.”

The album was recorded across Iceland, New York, and Berlin, and draws inspiration from poetry, literature and visual art. de Oliveira weaves in mythology with references to Milton's Paradise Lost and the poetry of John Keats, Emily Brontë and Anne Sexton.

The title references the Greek myth of Leda, in which Zeus disguises himself as a swan — a story that has been interpreted as both magical seduction and brutal violation. In line with this concept, the songs on The Lying Swans examine the feeling of having a broken sense of identity after experiencing a betrayal, the process of falling in love again, and the return of trust.

De Oliveira is joined by a cast of musicians including Matt Chamberlain (David Bowie, Tori Amos) on drums, Lennard Zander on guitars, Múm’s Gyða Valtýsdóttir on cello, Marilu Donovan (LEYA, Eartheater) on harp, and Úlfur Hansson on Segulharpa and synthesiser. Ambient artist Tor Lundvall delivers a rare spoken word performance, while Lina Andonovska’s flute combines Brazilian and Giallo influences.

The Lying Swans artwork

The Lying Swans tracklist

“Leda”
“Fading Faces”
“Sacred Hearts”
“The Voyager”
“Wounded Birds”
“The Wind Took it Away”
“The Perfect Con”
“Shadows in the Fog”
“Cranes in Flight”