Raised By Swans

'"We were young/We didn't heed those things," Eric Howden quietly sings in falsetto on opening track "We Were Never Young." The first moment of No Ghostless Place begins a journey through 13 moments of aural splendour, as themes of fading youth and fleeting love evoke both mournful and triumphant emotions. Raised By Swans have grown from their debut album, Codes and Secret Longing, which was enjoyable, but not even close to their sophomore album's transcendent, angelic presence. "Hail of Arrows" is a heart-wrenching song that has early Interpol guitar tones and a strong bass presence keeping the beat. Listening to Howden sing, "But if we don't shield ourselves then we won't have to fear the arrows," creates an eerie sense that anything is possible. The album has staying power, growing in stature the more it's listened to, as songs like "The Waiting's Over" and "The Past is the Prey" create contemplative fields that can raise any grief-stricken spirit. This album cannot be missed." – Exclaim! Magazine
"More than worth the wait….No Ghostless Place shimmers with emotion and fragile beauty. A+" – Scene Magazine
"With perfectly breathy vocals over eerie and warm guitar, Raised by Swans' record No Ghostless Place will leave you breathless after just one listen. Each song dances like shimmering northern lights above an open field, filled with wonder and curiosity, yet confident that if there's a place to be, that place is here. The band takes time sinking their hooks into your skin. And then, without warning, they rip them out in a swell of emotion and well-crafted lyrics." – Tyler Ostermayer, The Weal
"The ethereal-hollowness, the haunting echo of 'Kyte' in the vocalisation, and the dark, despondent lyrics of 'Arcade Fire's' "Neon Bible". No Ghostless Place tops at close to an hour, with a total of thirteen mindblowing tracks. Once ensnared, you'll never escape; I know I'm still struggling in its web." – highlyevolved.com
"On No Ghostless Place, Eric Howden sings about the departure of a love he was never meant to lose, the loss of a youth he never noticed was slipping away, and the struggle to hold onto the only things he has left; lingering memories of everything that's gone. No Ghostless Place isn't about the kind of ghosts that wear white sheets, and it's set somewhere far more haunted than the house at the top of the hill; inside the mind of a brokenhearted poet. – 4 stars" – drankinandsmokin.wordpress.com
"It's fair to say that Raised by Swans could be placed in the league of those unsigned, unadvertised titans like the post-hardcore, mysterious gods The Pax Cecilia, Sufjan Stevens-like Freelance Whales, or, until a year and a half ago anyway, melodic death metal heroes Be'lakor. The Canadian quartet's debut Codes and Secret Longing in 2005 was the kind of album that few might share in secret, a treasure that a small number ever discovered. This year's sophomore No Ghostless Place finds the band developing their lush sound into a Clarity-era Jimmy Eat World mixed in with a Final Straw-aged Snow Patrol concoction of sorts. While that might sound interesting and appealing to many listeners as it stands, throw in some post-rock guitar tones in the style of Explosion In The Sky, and you have yourself something really promising. Whether it's the mournful, heartfelt tale of "Night Fighter" or the sheer bliss of pop, hit-in-the-making "Hail Of Arrows", [the band] has a way with crafting a subtle, retrained happiness, or, in the case of the former, bringing me to tears with a mere suggestion…Raised By Swans are sure to light up the unsigned underground." – sputnikmusic.com
"Raised by Swans excel in creating gorgeous ambient soundscapes of heartbreaking indecision, hope against the odds, disillusionment, and dogged perseverance, bolstered by Eric Howden's gently drifting vocals and Alex Wright's scintillating guitar riffs. Songs that sound like the moment you realize that even though you never really liked him/her anyway and they have stupid hair, you're still going to spend two weeks thinking about the streetlight you stopped and talked under at three in the morning and about how you're sure no one else on the planet breathes the exact way the two of you do, but only when no one else is around. The band chose to open their set with the wistful "We Were Never Young", that served to transport the audience to a place where voices speak softly and disappointment can still be beautiful, before picking up the pace with the jumping-into-cold-water shock of album stand-out "Hail of Arrows". New favourites ("Old Fires") and old favourites ("Sandcastles") were played with the same level of perfection I've come to expect from my Raised by Swans CD the band: no hiccups, no screw ups, just pure audio bliss. The band concluded the set with "Violet Light", the song that's pretty much been everywhere (because it's that good), and got the most cheers out of the audience. However, whether it was because it was Thursday or because of the venue, rabid music fans (me), were left to only dream of an encore. That said, it was a really awesome dream." – muchmusic.com
"[An] eerie, haunting atmosphere created from a fusion of slow-burning melodies, breathy, pain-stricken vocals and beautifully crafted lyrics. – 3.5 out of 4" – Grayowl Point online review
"A black and silver sheen drapes their downbeat guitars and pianos in reverb and shimmering gentility…devastating and dark" – Lorraine Carpenter, Montreal Mirror
"[singer] Eric Howden has a voice that registers with angels" – Cam Lindsay, Exclaim! Magazine
"Beautifully constructed – and decidedly dark – musical visions" – The Ottawa Sun
"[No Ghostless Place] is a slow burning disc often so sonically beautiful that you can lose sight of it if you are not careful… with each listen an appreciation for its patience and subtleties makes ground on you" – Fazer Magazine
"The Canadian equivalent of Sigur Ros, Mercury Rev, or Radiohead – luscious, ambient, and dream-like" – Decoy Magazine
"The next Broken Social Scene, Stars, Stills, and dare I say Arcade Fire of your generation. I'm dumbfounded when a band drops out of the sky so fully formed and dangerously rocking from the get go!" – Phil Klygo, Weewerk



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