"IF YOU WANT A VISION OF THE FUTURE, IMAGINE CRAP 808 SAMPLES STAMPING ON A HUMAN FACE- FOREVER"
Our love for everything Olde English Spelling Bee is fairly obvious now, even at this early stage in the game. The label’s coherent aesthetic tends to be convincing enough that when I came across Forest Swords’ music I presumed he’d surfaced, precociously fully formed, from the US’ lo-fi belt. He’s actually from somewhere near Liverpool.
And there are certainly similarities between Mike Barnes’ muggy not-quite-pop songs and the likes of James Ferraro and Sun Araw, but the longer I spent with his debut for OESB, Dagger Paths, the more convincingly it stood out on its own limb. It’s a gorgeous listen and well worth tracking down: ‘Miarches’ and ‘Glory Gongs’ both sound a little like what dub reggae might have, had it first emerged from the grey, misty landscape of The Wirral as opposed to the dense heat of Jamaica. Bedroom studio trickery, essentially - acres of delay, shredded vocals and spiky plucked guitar - but with the door flung wide open to let the rain blow in and drench everything.
His two-track follow-up for No Pain In Pop solidifies the UK connection, and Barnes thankfully does little to change the formula except to write even better songs. ‘Rattling Cage’ is his most pop savvy thing yet, all wispy chimes and a vocal hook that sounds like it was ripped straight from a nineties R’n’B tune. But when ‘Hjurt’ parts in the middle to allow a little light and warmth in it’s like standing in the eye of a storm, temporarily safe but acutely aware of the chaos waiting just beyond the visible horizon.
As it came out a month ago, the 7” version of this has all but vanished at this point – grab one if you find it! – but the digital version is well worth the pittance you’d pay for such an excellent release.
Rory
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