Cop (album)

Cop
Studio album by Swans
Released	1984
Recorded	1984 at Vanguard Studios, New York City; Platinum, Zurich, Switzerland
Genre	Noise rock, no wave, industrial
Length	40:48
Label	K.422
Producer	Michael Gira, Roli Mosimann
Swans chronology
Filth (1983) Cop (1984) Young God (1984)

Cop is the second studio album by American post-punk band Swans. It was released in 1984, through record label K.422.

Background

On Cop, Swans took the style of their previous LP, 1983's Filth, and intensified it, utilising slower tempos, more tape loops and even more abrasive musical textures.^[1] The lyrics are again concerned with ambiguous themes like physical, often sexual domination and/or submission. According to Jarboe, who first met the band shortly after this album was recorded, the photograph on the cover is the profile of a morbidly obese woman.

Cop was remastered by Michael Gira in 1992 for release on CD along with the Young God EP as bonus tracks. The 1999 double disc re-issue Cop/Young God / Greed/Holy Money combines Cop and Young God with the compilation Greed / Holy Money (itself compiled from the albums Greed and Holy Money.) The packaging for all issues states that the recording is "designed to be played at maximum volume".

Track listing

All lyrics written by Michael Gira, all music composed by Swans.

Side A
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Half Life"	4:18
2.	"Job"	4:46
3.	"Why Hide"	5:50
4.	"Clay Man"	5:05

Side B
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Your Property"	4:48
2.	"Cop"	6:47
3.	"Butcher"	4:02
4.	"Thug"	5:12

CD bonus tracks (Cop / Young God)
No.	Title	Length
1.	"I Crawled"	5:40
2.	"Raping a Slave"	6:22
3.	"Young God"	7:03
4.	"This Is Mine"	5:24

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Quietus	favourable[2]

AllMusic 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.".^[1] The Quietus compared the sound of the album to an "open wound".

Personnel

• Michael Gira – vocals, tapes, production
• Harry Crosby – bass guitar
• Norman Westberg – guitar
• Roli Mosimann – drums, production

Technical

• Lee Ranaldo – sleeve back cover photography
• Jonathan Thayer – engineering (at Vanguard Studios)
• Mark Berry – engineering (at Vanguard Studios)
• Harry Lombardy – engineering (at Platinum)
• Voco – engineering (at Platinum)

Charts

Chart (1984)	Peak position
UK Indie Chart[3]	12

References

1. Raggett, Ned. "Cop – Swans : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
3. Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1989. Cherry Red Books. Retrieved September 5, 2014.

External links

• Cop at Discogs (list of releases)