Barry Can't Swim – Loner
On his latest record, Barry Can’t Swim cements himself as a boundary-pushing voice in electronic music, one fluent in mood, movement, and meaningful reflection
On Loner, Barry Can’t Swim builds on the foundations of When Will We Land? to create something more personal, expansive, and emotionally layered. Drawing from jazz, ambient, house, broken beat, and spoken word, he delivers a record that’s danceable yet introspective, mirroring his varied approach to production.
Opener The Person You’d Like To Be sets the tone and solidifies itself as a highlight of the album: eerie horns and sparse piano drift around a disembodied voice repeating, ‘Change, there is nothing permanent except change’. It’s an immersive, meditative beginning that feels emotively rich and invites inward thinking. Another standout, Still Riding showcases his lighter touch, a deceptively simple, rhythmically tight track that leans into restraint rather than the obvious drop, somewhere between early Fred again.. and Four Tet’s atmospheric elegance.
What elevates Loner is Barry’s willingness to shift gears. Tracks like About To Begin burst with intense momentum, while Cars Pass By Like Childhood Sweethearts swerves into wistful jazz textures. These contrasts feel purposeful, painting a picture of dislocation and identity in flux. With Loner, Barry Can’t Swim cements himself as a boundary-pushing voice in electronic music, one fluent in mood, movement, and meaningful reflection.
Listen to: The Person You’d Like To Be, Still Riding