First of the various post-Swans musical groups, led by Swans main-man Michael Gira, to release after he and band-partner Jarboe chose to end the band in 1997 (and in fact named after a song from Jarboe's 1995 solo album Sacrificial Cake). The Body Lovers remains a studio only project for Gira, working in concert with numerous musicians, including Jarboe and other Swans veterans (Norman Westberg, Phil Puleo, and Bill Rieflin), as well as Ultra Vivid Scene's Kurt Ralske, avant-garde guitarist James Plotkin, and Mika Vaino from electronic experimentalists Pan Sonic. The ensemble created all-instrumental pieces of a semi-ambient nature, mixing the near-cinematic sweep of Swans' more epic songs with further explorations in sound. The first of three promised albums appeared in early 1998; however, Gira has been focusing his musical attentions recently on his comparatively more song-oriented group, the Angels of Light, and no further word has yet surfaced as to whether the remaining two albums will be recorded as planned. ~ Ned Raggett