further commented, "Now that this mission has been completed there is space for To Be Kind, and future Swans records to affirm, rather than prove, that Swans are, and perhaps always have been, the greatest rock group on the face of the planet." Writing for Rolling Stone, Kory Grow compared the album to The Seer, as well as the 1996 effort Soundtracks for the Blind, noting how "Swans' sound has evolved so that they "don't just crush—they hypnotize". Ross Horton of musicOMH gave the album a 5-star score, commenting, "Gira shows that the Swans resurgence isn’t a fluke." Stuart Berman of Pitchfork praised Gira's efforts on the album, stating, "He's responded in the best way possible: by producing a record that, in structure and scale, is every bit The Seers equal, yet possessed by a peculiar energy and spirit that proves all the more alluring in its dark majesty." Rory Gibb of The Quietus wrote, "By this point they've further coalesced into an inseparable entity. On To Be Kind we experience Swans as totality, all seething ebb and flow crafting music that seems to breathe of its own volition." He also stated that the album's songs "feel more fluid and open-ended than before, expressive and rich in possibility." Colm McAuliffe of The Skinny also gave the album a positive review, stating, "Despite the two-hour plus running time, Swans appear to be – gasp! – enjoying themselves; they’re still staring into the abyss but the abyss is no longer staring back." He also noted that the album: "displays much more diversity than its immediate predecessors." Louis Pattison of Uncut wrote, "Yet as the name suggests To Be Kind does feature a quality hitherto rare in Swans: that of tenderness." He also further stated, "Michael Gira is not only still moving forward but making some of the albums of his career." To Be Kind received a "perfect 10" from Anthony Fantano of The Needle Drop, one of only seven contemporary albums to have ever received such a score to date. While the album's reception was overwhelmingly positive, some reviews were more mixed. Jon Dennis of The Guardian described the album as "uncompromising to the point of overindulgence" and felt that the lengthy track "Bring the Sun/Toussaint L'Ouverture" was "like The Doors playing "The End" for ever only without the easygoing bonhomie." Track listing The European vinyl version was pressed incorrectly, leading "Oxygen"