Brendan Telford, Journalist

Knievel, it’s good to have you back.

“The exchange of art is perpetually off balance in a sense because the concert is free of any bondage [for the audience] – it’s the end of their day, they’ve finished work, they have a beer in their hand and they are probably trying to meet a girl.”

"We went through so many periods where we weren’t working as a group, everyone was working on the individual projects, so nothing felt overly different... so all of us were incredibly surprised at what was going on, because Thurston and Kim always seemed like this extremely stable couple. And this is personal stuff, and it’s hard to deal with in a public setting."

"I would never say instrumental music is limiting, but it certainly is challenging, for the performer and the listener."

Focused, resolute and challenging, this is an assured debut.

The North ends up a staid imitation of their younger selves.

“Right now one of my songs that’s going really hard and everybody likes is Go Duffy. It’s simple. It means go hard or go home: ‘come ready to party or get yo’ ass right back out the door and go home’.”

"People are quick to say, ‘Oh you’re a post-rock band, you’re a post-metal band’, and I get it I guess, but those aren’t the bands that we really feel a connection with."

The Seer is easily the best thing Swans have ever done.

"I think people mourn the loss of place like the Hopetoun or fear the loss of the Annandale and those kind of places, but there are places like The Standard and Oxford Arts Factory that are offering amazing sounding venues... I think that Sydney is pretty healthy."