Review: Forest Swords

Forest Swords Engravings (Tri Angle Records, 2013)

Following the release of the critically acclaimed Dagger Paths EP in 2010, Matthew Barnes, A.K.A Forest Swords, seemingly ceased to continue producing new material; the reason for the hiatus being that he had been trying to overcome some serious hearing difficulties. However, 3 years later, he has returned with an absolute gem. Overdue admittedly, but after hearing the official album leak, it is simple to conclude that the wait was an undoubtedly worthwhile one.

It's difficult to explain the path that Forest Swords has gone down with his latest LP, but to put it simply, it's an electronic album of pastoral persuasion that gives off a veritable naturalistic vibe. It takes you through a musical spectrum of everything from the neo-psychedelic achy groans of the lead guitar, right through to the chillwave-influenced field recordings on tracks such as "Thor's Stone". Now that wasn't too hard was it...

Engravings is an album that welcomes you to sink deeper into its shadowy realms, and will almost certainly be on my Best Albums of 2013 list.

Forest Swords - Engravings stream (Pitchfork Media)

Reviews: D/P/I and 18+

D/P/I Espresso Digital (Chance Images, 2013)

Deep Tapes' head-honcho Alex Gray has had quite a prolific solo career of late, flinging out numerous releases under various guises - Heat Wave, DJ/PURPLE/IMAGE, Purple/Image, and now D/P/I (he has also recently released an album for Preservation under the Deep Magic alias). Somehow, project after project, Gray always manages to impress with his garbled plunderphonics and glitchy, spaced-out beats. It is to his credit, then, that Espresso Digital not only continues this trend, but manages to surpass all of his recent releases in terms of sheer, funked-up quality.

As ever, Gray's sample choices are fairly abstract, but the way in which he pulls it all together is so damn convincing that it all makes perfect sense. Where else could a heartfelt wedding speech sit alongside cries of "SHE CAN YELL, WHAT'S UP?", and jittery ambience cosy up with a spacious drum track? It's strangely intoxicating stuff, but it works, and should you submit to Gray's beguiling lo-fi beat tape charm, you will find plenty to enjoy in Espresso Digital's whacked-out, sloppy, yet coherent tracklist.

18+ MIXTA2E (Self-released, 2012)

Little is known (to me, anyway) about 18+. The mysterious "Boy"/"Sis" duo create music that defies any real classification; it's sort of witch house, with shades of cloud rap in the form of Boy's verses. Actually, a good descriptor of 18+'s sound would be "cloudy"; in the same way that Hype Williams used to cloak themselves beneath a veil of tape hiss, 18+ lurk beneath a shadowy backdrop of lo-fi beats and samples while they spit/sing in a hazy, lazy manner.

Apparently, some of these beats on their second mixtape are sourced from other producers (Holy Other is one name I've seen mentioned), but I couldn't begin to tell you which tracks are original productions and which are lifted from elsewhere, owing to the singular approach the duo take. The grotty, overtly sexual themes found in MIXTA2E's lyrics verge on unpleasant; a fetishisation of the deep web, a porno on a flickering screen in a dark room. The sterility of the music combined with these lyrics give MIXTA2E a dark, almost menacing edge, and it's enthralling to hear. Be sure to keep an eye on 18+; I know I most certainly will.

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Review: JGivens

JGivens El v. Envy (Self-released, 2013)

The fourth release from the extremely talented JGivens comes in the form of El v. Envy. In comparison to previous albums (such as Run) he has clearly realised his own solo talent as he's cut down on the amount of featuring artists, and has seemingly taken on the project with very little outside help. The first track from the album, (a)bridge(d) thoughts, uses a sample of soft woodwind which goes strangely well with a boom bap beat. The lyrics and flow over the track are strong too; it really feels like he knows the world which he's rapping about, unlike the eminent Viper. The beat production on the release is well-executed with quite simple hip-hop beats overlaying funk melodies reminiscent of early Snoop Dogg and Dre collaborations such as Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang.

However, despite the success of El v. Envy, I feel like JGivens has a lot more to offer. Whilst El v. Envy is a good album, it does fall short with 3 or 4 tracks which is a shame, it's possible that in a year or two, JGivens could be a name contending against current experimental hip-hop groups such as Death Grips. Although the 3 or 4 tracks that lower the general standard of the album, it doesn't take away from the raw potential left in the album.

New Track: Big Sean

First things first, there is some bad news. Although Big Sean's second studio album, Hall of Fame, will be dropping in stores on 27th August, this killer track hasn't made the final cut due to 'sample clearance issues'. However, the good news is that Sean revealed to Hot 97 yesterday that the song will be released for free on uknowbigsean.com at some point in the very near future.

GOOD Music (founded by Kanye West in 2004) has always been renown for having a fruitful abundance of  talented producers and up-and-coming Chi-town MCs, and Big Sean has utilised this to his fullest when piecing together his latest eagerly awaited LP - with lead producers such as No ID, Key Wane and Kanye West, it's difficult to see how this project could possibly go wrong. A glimpse of this anticipated production is showcased to us in single releases such as Switch Up (ft. Common) and Beware (ft. Lil Wayne & Jhene Aiko), and thus far has been well critically accepted by publications such as XXL Magazine and Complex Magazine, with the album being on their "Most Anticipated Albums of 2013" lists.

However, despite the fact that "Control (HOF)" is Big Sean's track, I think that I, and the world of Twitter, can safely agree on the highlight being Kendrick Lamar's two minute long verse, where the Compton rapper puts himself on a level next to Jay-Z and Nas, and seemingly calls out Big Sean in his own song by claiming that "I've got love for you all but I'm tryna murder you ni**as. Now if that isn't going hard then French Montana is a child prodigy.