October brought the much-anticipated debut album from electronic artist Barry Can’t Swim, a.k.a. Joshua Mannie, titled ‘When Will We Land?’
The Scottish producer flaunts his remarkable talent with captivating melodies and dynamic percussive elements. Given his early taking to the piano, that melody takes centre stage shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Barry Can’t Swim (BCS) demonstrates a prodigious ability to traverse various sub-genres of dance music. While most tracks have a distinct flavour, altogether the album can only be described as a fusion of house, progressive, afrobeat, pop, UK street, Scandi pop and disco, offering a vibrant and diverse sonic experience.
At times it feels like Mannie channels classic dance tracks and producers: ‘Sunsleeper’ has a distinct ‘Strings of Life’ by Soul Central vibe; and ‘Define Dancing’ wouldn’t feel out of place in a Rufus Du Sol set.
Standout tracks like the ethereal ‘Sonder’ and the afrobeat-laden ‘I Won’t Let You Down’ with Falle Nioke and Blackboxx exhibit BCS’s knack for crafting immersive musical journeys.
BCS’ talent, together with his willingness to (and competence in) exploring different corners of genre had me, for one, at times wondering whether I might be listening to a Groove Armada album. This is quite a compliment, considering these behemoths of dance music remained in the upper stratosphere for about 25 years from the 1998 release of Northern Star – their first of eight albums.
It has to be said the cohesiveness of ‘When Will We Land?’ does start to waver a bit in the back half – perhaps unsurprising given Mannie’s eagerness to cover all corners of the dance music umbrella. This is less a drawback of any single track, but more an area BCS could look to improve in future long-form projects if he wants to push into the same rarefied air as some of the artists his debut invokes.
Comparatively, Groove Armada’s 1998 debut was a more straightforward, cohesive exploration of their artistic identity. They embraced a simpler approach, allowing their beats to breathe, which in turn highlighted their melodies and percussion. Their experimentation with different instruments and maintenance of a consistent thematic essence set a benchmark in electronic music.
In any case, ‘When Will We Land?’ sets the stage for a promising career. The potential for Mannie to carve out his unique place in the electronic music scene is now clear, and we’ll wait with baited breath on his follow up.
Barry Can’t Swim plays alongside acts including Bicep and Ben Klock at ‘Let Them Eat Cake’ at the Werribee Manion on 1 Jan 2024, New Year’s Day. Tickets here.
