What We Did

What We Did is a collaborative studio album by Swans frontman Michael Gira and Windsor for the Derby member Dan Matz. It was released on November 13, 2001 through Gira's Young God Records label.[1]

What We Did
Studio album by M. Gira and D. Matz
Released	November 13, 2001
Length	48:19
Label	Young God
Producer	Michael Gira Dan Matz
Michael Gira chronology
Somniloquist (2000) What We Did (2001) Solo Recordings at Home (2001)
Dan Matz chronology
What We Did (2001) Blank Ages (2011)

Musical style

What We Did has a considerably more pop-oriented and accessible sound, compared to Gira's other solo works. The majority of the lyrics on the album were written by Matz.[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Pitchfork	8.4/10[2]

Allmusic critic Thom Jurek described the album as "a finely wrought album of relayed styles and layered textures enfolding one another into a music that could have only been made by these two men, with a small host of guests who appear intermittently," and further stated: "The songs here are all questions that are more pronounced after their seeming narratives have entered back into the silence from whence they came."[1] Daphne Carr of Pitchfork wrote: "The rewards of this record aren't reaped through immediate digestibility, but through repeated suggestion. Still, this is by far the most palatable of Gira's growing mass of output and an indication of continued innovation in collaborating with those whose moods, ideas, and melodies augment his own dark brilliance."[2] Philip Sherburne of Wondering Sound described it as "one of the quietest albums in Michael Gira’s catalog."[3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Michael Gira and Dan Matz except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Pacing the Locks"		4:41
2.	"Is/Was"		7:19
3.	"Cold Creeping"		3:55
4.	"Lines"		3:47
5.	"Brown Eyes"		2:01
6.	"17 Hours"	Tamer Eid Gira Matz Luke Michel Todd Watts Erik Wenberg	6:19
7.	"Stitches"		5:16
8.	"Waiting Beside Viragio"		2:16
9.	"Forcing Mary"		3:06
10.	"Quiet One"		3:25
11.	"Sunflower"	Matz Mack David Gira Neil Diamond	3:20
12.	"The Brightest Star"		3:37
Total length:			48:19

Personnel

• Michael Gira – vocals, performance, production
• Dan Matz – vocals, performance, production
• Anna Neighbor – backing vocals (4, 5, 12)
• James Plotkin – guitar, vocals (1, 2)

References

1. Jurek, Thom. "Michael Gira - What We Did". Allmusic. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
2. Carr, Daphne (December 4, 2001). "M. Gira / D. Matz - What We Did". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
3. Sherburne, Philip (November 27, 2011). "M. Gira / D. Matz, What We Did". Wondering Sound. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2020.

External links

• What We Did at Discogs