Thurston Moore & Bonner Kramer – ‘They Came Like Swallows – Seven Requiems for the Children of Gaza’ album review: a moving symphony
Art is one of the most powerful tools we have in an increasingly helpless political landscape, and what’s more universal than instrumental music, absent of language and cultural borders?
The Skinny: Apart from a poignant cover of ‘Insight’ by Joy Division, which rounds out the record, Thurston Moore and Bonner Kramer’s first collaboration together, They Came Like Swallows – Seven Requiems for the Children of Gaza, is without vocals.
Instead, the pair allow themselves to meet through improvisational and experimental rhythms, allowing a mixture of abrasion, contemplation, and heaviness to weave seamlessly across each piece, a fitting tribute to the horrors of war and genocide.
The pair say more than they ever could with lyrics, their instruments swelling or cooling as they reach emotional peaks. You might be expecting every track to be incredibly dark, considering the title of the record, but rather, the album is rooted in both light and dark, the hope for salvation just as potent as their lament for the deceased.
This is encapsulated well on opener ‘Urn Burial’, which sees Moore’s guitars frantic and raw, constantly building towards something, although deliverance is never fully given. In the meantime, electronics twinkle and whirl with a little more hope. There’s uncertainty, sure, but the track doesn’t feel totally despairing.
The Sonic Youth guitarist offers up his signature tone, especially on the opening notes of ‘They Came Like Swallows’. But none of these tracks feel like something Moore could’ve made with anyone else but Kramer. His compositions work perfectly with Moore’s guitar-playing, offering up rich, atmospheric tapestries for Moore to weave his riffs into.
Choosing to cover ‘Insight’, a track from Joy Division’s legendary Unknown Pleasures, is a fitting end to the record, with lyrics like “Tears of sadness for you,” “I watch them all as they fall/ But I remember when we were young,” and of course, the repetition of “I’m not afraid anymore.”
They slow the piece down, and while it works as a new composition, breaking down with Moore’s riffs darting about in chaos over drawn-out ambience, let’s be real – nothing is ever going to trump the original, led by Ian Curtis’ haunting vocals.
Still, it’s a welcome closing number which fits into the otherwise instrumental landscape of the album well, and it doesn’t feel like the pair have merely shoehorned a cover into the album that they wanted people to hear.
Rather, They Came Like Swallows is cohesive, every instrument melting into one another as emotion is conveyed through the relationship between a piano and a guitar, strings and synths, the contradiction between sounds conveying the confusion of the world.
Standout Track: ‘Urn Burial’
The Verdict: They Came Like Swallows is an easy record to sink into, and while it often feels more like listening to one big track rather than an album of individual pieces, that’s not always a bad thing. It’s like a symphony. Guided by intuition, the record flows with both pain and hopefulness, proving the power of music as the ultimate tool for emotional response, for protest without words.
Release Date: May 1st, 2026 | Producer: Bonner Kramer | Label: Silver Current Records
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