"The Hanging Man" arrives after last month's lead single "It's Coming It's Real".
leaving meaning. is Swans' first album since 2016's The Glowing Man, and their 2017 remastered edition of 1995's The Great Annihilator album.
The record was written and produced by Swans vocalist Michael Gira, and features members of Gira’s alternate project the Angels of Light, Thor Harris, Norman Westberg, Ben Frost, the Necks, Baby Dee, and Jennifer Gira, among others. The first single features special guests Anna and Maria von Hausswolff.
Gira said in a statement, "leaving meaning. is the first Swans album to be released since I dissolved the lineup of musicians that constituted Swans from 2010 - 2017. Swans is now comprised of a revolving cast of musicians, selected for both their musical and personal character, chosen according to what I intuit best suits the atmosphere in which I’d like to see the songs I’ve written presented. In collaboration with me, the musicians, through their personality, skill and taste, contribute greatly to the arrangement of the material. They’re all people whose work I admire and whose company I personally enjoy."
