Forest Swords
Engravings

Great album, an absolutely amazing album, directly into my "The Best 2013".

The British Matthew Barnes (a.k.a. Forest Swords) delivers his true recording debut, after the semi-unknown 2010 EP "Dagger Paths", ten lo-fi electronic tracks, mysterious and dark, where it's easy to transition from Bristolian trip-hop to dark-ambient, from gritty downtempo to dubstep rhythms. Cinematic echoes are accompanied by noises and Japanese-style interferences, swirling guitar riffs are broken by syncopated beats. The contamination is total, nothing seems to slip from his grasp, everything is skillfully mixed, nothing is forced.

Monumental music preferably to be listened to in desolate suburbs, abandoned industrial areas, or in the beautiful/ugly middle of the Po Valley on a foggy day, an album for cold and calculating minds, for the depressed and hardcore night owls with a cigarette in one hand and a glass of whiskey in the other. Heavy, slow, and laborious music. Very beautiful music.