Forest Swords - Bolted

Forest Swords (aka electronic producer and songwriter Matthew Barnes) returns with new album "Bolted". He has worked as an in-demand composer and sound designer for the past few years - writing scores for ballet, film and video games - and recorded 'Bolted' over the past year in a factory warehouse in Barnes' native Liverpool. Across eleven tracks, he's delved deeper into his unique sonic vocabulary, creating a set of tracks that sound equal parts muscular and grim, haunting and euphoric.

As always in his music, melancholy and euphoria, monochromaticity and color, past and future seem ambiguous. Emotions shift from moment to moment, the distinctions between digital and acoustic instruments are more blurred than ever: a crossing of time, space and sound that feels equally playful and utterly vital.

While on his previous album - 2017's acclaimed "Compassion" - Barnes played with wide-angle technicolor, the world of "Bolted" is tight, instructive, with a sense of aching urgency like never before. Roaring deconstructed synths, heavily distorted drumsticks and marimbas bounce off rumbling beats and hazy vocals, all balanced by slightly dancing brass; a layer of dust covers the surface of each track.

Challenging, desolate and darkly beautiful: "Bolted" cements Forest Swords' position as one of electronic music's most striking and unique voices.