Swans is a band from New York City, active from 1982 to 1997, reformed in 2010, founded & led by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira. Marginally associated with the no wave scene initially, their original sound was slow and extremely heavy, best heard on the live album Public Castration Is a Good Idea. By the time Swans released twin albums Greed and Holy Money the music had sped up. Drum machines and samples were slightly more prominent. Michael Gira was joined vocally by Jarboe which gave the band a broader sonic range.

Swans eventually broke up in 1997.

In 2010, Michael Gira re-formed the band. A notable change was that post-reunion Swans did not have Jarboe as part of their group, creating tonal differences between post-reunion albums and older albums.