Lurching samurai vibes, phased vocal apparitions, and menacing bass lines are just a few of the disparate tricks that newcomer Forest Swords has up his sleeves. This savvy UK producer lays the groundwork with dark planetary dub-step akin to Not Not Fun affiliates and then decorates with ascending guitar lines that teeter between cloud-bursting ambiance and claustrophobic tension. His debut LP Dagger Paths is a dogged expansion of the potential we saw last summer on his Miarches cassette, and is already bound to be a fixture on our playlist for some time. It’s definitely not a go-to for any occasion, but if you feel like a spaced out trek up Desolation Peak and back, your ride is here.

Dagger Paths is available through Olde English Spelling Bee.

MP3 :::
Forest Swords – If Your Girl
Forest Swords – Visits

If the preview of Sun Awar’s latest joint gave you a tingling in the solar plexus, then you’ve gotta hear what Forest Swords are bringing to the table (besides weed). From what one could ascertain from the few songs we’ve heard thus far, Forest Swords do not fake the funk and very much keep their shit extraterrestrial.

“Red Rocks Fogg” showcases heavy, mystic, syrupy dub pipped through fuzz pedals. “Down Steps” takes it one step further, introducing the trip as a sparse reverberated soundscape a la Ambient-era Aphex Twin, then organically builds the celestial grime into an ultra low-end groove so nasty that your face crunches up a bit and you expel a gasp of “daaaang, that’s nasty.” The title track from their forthcoming cassette-only debut Miarches comes correct with acid-damaged minor key pop sensibility, samples resembling some sort of outer space communique picked up by SETI, and actual vocals – giving the song a sort of space dub reinterpretation of early Indian Jewelry.

Forest Swords are sick. Be on the lookout for more from them. Miarches is available for preorder courtesy of Leftist Nautical Antiques.

For fans of:  Pocahaunted, Growing, Religious Knives, Scratch Perry

MP3 :::
Forest Swords – Miarches
Forest Swords – Red Rocks Fogg
Forest Swords – Down Steps