Forest Swords will release a new album, Engravings, through Tri Angle on August 26.

There’s not an awful amount of public information about Forest Swords. The project of Merseyside’s Matthew Barnes, he released several records in 2009-2010, including a breathtaking album called Dagger PathsOriginally released on Olde English Spelling Bee, then re-released on No Pain in Pop, it’s an incredible blend of doom metal, Morricone and r’n’b, and claimed the #1 spot on FACT’s albums of the year run-down (fun fact: Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was #2, and this upset Kanye so much that he recorded ‘I Am A God’ as a direct response).

Since then there’s not been much activity from Forest Swords, though a press release for Engravings explains that he was forced to take a break from music due to hearing problems (he did, however, find time to collaborate with How to Dress Well on Total Loss, collaborate with German artist Otto Baerst as Dyymond of Durham and contribute to a No Pain in Pop compilation).

Engravings appears to mark a tribute of sorts to Liverpool’s The Wirral, and the record was mixed outdoors on Barnes’ laptop. There’s also a guest appearance from Brighton’s Anneka, who has worked with Lone, Machinedrum and Ital Tek in the past.

You can stream two tracks from the record, ‘Thor’s Stone’ and ‘The Weight of Gold’ below, and read FACT’s 2010 interview with Forest Swords here.



Tracklist:

01. Ljoss
02. Thor’s Stone
03. Irby Tremor
04. Onward
05. The Weight of Gold
06. Anneka’s Battle
07. An Hour
08. Gathering
09. The Plumes
10. Friend, You Will Never Learn

Forest Swords live shows:

SEPTEMBER
Fri 27 – Le Trabendo – Paris, France (w/ Oneohtrix Point Never)
Sat 28 – Unsound London – London, UK

OCTOBER
Thurs 17 – Unsound Festival – Krakow, Poland
Sat 26 – ARP Release The Bats – Melbourne, Australia

NOVEMBER
Sat 16 – Semibreve Festival – Braga, Portugal
Fri 22 – All Tomorrow’s Parties – Camber, UK

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