Late Night Tales: Barry Can't Swim

On his Late Night Tales compilation, Barry Can't Swim curates a chilled-out collection that's much more Balearic than Barrowlands

Album Review by Calum Skuodas | 02 Mar 2026
  • Late Night Tales: Barry Can't Swim
Album title: Late Night Tales: Barry Can't Swim
Artist: Barry Can't Swim
Label: Late Night Tales
Release date: 6 Mar

Born and raised in Edinburgh, Joshua Mainnie, aka Barry Can’t Swim, is the latest in a long and illustrious list of artists to curate a Late Night Tales compilation. Mainnie’s mix comes as something of a milestone in his young career. “I was absolutely buzzing when I got asked to do Late Night Tales," he said. "Over the moon.”

Drawing from his popular Barry Can’t Curate playlist, Mainnie described Late Night Tales as “another place where you can share the music you love, but not necessarily music you’d play on a dancefloor.” The result is a melodic and chilled-out collection that ripples with sonic goodness. It’s much more Balearic than Barrowlands, mixing an eclectic collection of jazz and funk with humming, unhurried dance music.

Slower songs are thoughtfully selected and mixed. The album really begins with Annabi, a delicate Moroccan jazz number and eventually flows into the soft trumpets and simmering synth lines of Loket’s Afternoon at Barenquell. And there is still plenty here for his fans with exclusive Barry tracks Sometimes I Feel So Alone and (Chala) My Soul Is On a Loop complementing the curated tracks to form a poignant whole. 

Listen to: Afternoon At Barenquell, (Chala) My Soul Is On a Loop, Annabi

http://latenighttales.co.uk