Forest Sword

RESTOCKED *Bit of a departure for the Old English Spelling bee, embracing scenic dubbed-out tapestries described by the label as a cross between Burial's sample-strewn claustrophobia and Ennio Morricone's spaghetti western scores...* The Olde English Spelling Bee label has lit up our week with this incredible debut from Forest Swords. Nope, we've never heard of them before either, but they're only based down the road in The Wirral so we'll send them a thank you message via carrier pigeon or something. 'Daggers Path' is a textured patch of personal sonic connections infusing outsider drone-folk and lo-fi pop with modern r'nb and vintage dub tropes that capture that feeling of Grouper jamming with the Velvets down at Tubby's that you forgot to remember that time you didn't imagine it. Central figure, M. Barnes, cyphers the same soulful impact you'd find in the vocal samples of a Burial record for instance, and shades them with a widescreen wash of lo-fi colours reminiscent of the inherent skyward drama found in his native coastal location, also embedding each track in slow-burnt dub basslines and dread guitar jangles which echo out across the low-lying landscape for miles around. On 'Hoylake Misst' there's even elements of Amon Düül, if they'd taken cues from Timbaland beating rhythms with pencils on his desk, or on 'Glory Gong' we feel like we're about to be dropped into some reggaeton bumper before the all the edges dissolve and we're left with ghostly male groans and plaintive guitar shimmers while some deft fingers on the desk rubs in dubbed out samples and the stodgy-slow bass keeps on heaving. It's love at first sight with this album and we reckon you'll fall for it too. Please don't sleep on this!