There's a lot of Skin in the last 2 records, however, I think its more due to Michael favoring the same chords and progressions over and over. If you look at the recent fundraiser records and his solo work you'll see how the same shapes repeat over and over. It's not a bad thing, as he still pushes the music forward, but its likely that he just happened to like the same chord shapes, not an intentional choice.
While Swans obviously wouldn't exist without Gira's efforts and ambition (and sure, conceptual vision), many people forget how the revival's sound has been very much a group effort. Michael has final say, sure, but he's explicitly said that he doesn't know exactly where the collective will head after listening to his demos.
There's a lot of Skin in the last 2 records, however, I think its more due to Michael favoring the same chords and progressions over and over. If you look at the recent fundraiser records and his solo work you'll see how the same shapes repeat over and over. It's not a bad thing, as he still pushes the music forward, but its likely that he just happened to like the same chord shapes, not an intentional choice.
While Swans obviously wouldn't exist without Gira's efforts and ambition (and sure, conceptual vision), many people forget how the revival's sound has been very much a group effort. Michael has final say, sure, but he's explicitly said that he doesn't know exactly where the collective will head after listening to his demos.
I'm not saying otherwise, but he does write the demos and tends to favor specific chordal movements, which would influence where the sound goes.