Barry Can't Swim Just Dropped the Electronic AOTY With His Gorgeous Debut, 'When Will We Land?'
By combining house, jazz, and world music, Barry Can't Swim has quickly become the most intriguing producer in the electronic game.
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Ever since I first heard Barry Can’t Swim’s debut single, “Lone Raver,” in May of 2021, I’ve been hungry for whatever the Edinburgh-born and London-based producer is up to sharing. Later that summer, he released Amor Fati, which quickly reached the top of my EP list for the year. Between stray singles and a just as fantastic follow-up EP, More Content, Mr. Can’t Swim found his way again to the top of Check This Out!’s short-player list last year. Are you sensing a pattern?
While Barry Can’t Swim (real name Joshua Mannie) is entrancing in those small doses, his rapid-fire release of bangers always feels like he’s working towards something more significant. Enter his freshly released debut album, which asks the question, When Will We Land?
The answer? Right now, with an entourage of blissed-out songs that blend deep house, jazz, ambient, and a touch of afrobeat for a memorable aural escape.
“You only get to make your debut album once. So I want to showcase all the elements of the things I enjoy and love in music up to this point.”
- Barry Can’t Swim on his new album, When Will We Land?
When Will We Land? is everything you want from an electronic album and more. It may pull from all of Barry Can’t Swim’s influences and serve them in eleven distinct ways, but Mannie’s vision is clear and never wanders from the bigger picture. While the record should be taken in as a whole when possible, each song is so distinct and fully executed that each is tailor-made for playlists (or mixtapes, if you’re keeping them alive).
This isn’t an accident, either. Mannie is a musical perfectionist, and every beat, texture, piano note, and all of the blips and bloops fit together impeccably like bits of cloudy glass in the When Will We Land? mosaic. Mannie may be a club wizard who easily fills the dancefloor, but none of these songs are mindless half-baked ideas crafted solely for the late-night amusement of turnt frat boys. Instead, When Will We Land? finds Barry Can’t Swim doing what he’s done best over the past few years by harnessing the energy of that big night out while coloring it with organic instrumentation and a much-needed reminder of the universality of the human experience.
“For me, I want it to have musicality to it,” Mannie says about the album. “I wanted it to have the energy of electronic music but also with a more organic live element. I feel like I’m more of a musician than anything else. I’m a producer, but I like writing music on instruments.” The title track opener immediately demonstrates Mannie’s chops, as a combo of delicate piano and synths reminds of Moby’s “God Moving Over the Face of the Waters” and his ambient roots before acoustic drums accompany the ascent.
“Deadbeat Gospel” features a new turn for Barry Can’t Swim as it combines impromptu field recording spoken word and danceable beats for a tribute to old rave culture. At the same time, the soulful “Sonder” is the awesome lone holdover from More Content. “How It Feels” may present as a transitional track, its vocal samples and harp-like strings flesh out a grooving rest in the action. “Sunsleeper,” a massive house song that dropped earlier this year, bops just right and would have been tailormade for the Intel Bunny People in the nineties when Mannie dances his way up and down the keys.
The chilled-out “Woman” takes When Will We Land? to a more reflective state, while the album highlight finds Låpsey singing the earworm hook, “When the people got the power, you see human, I see God.” “I Won’t Let You Down” is a collaboration with Blackboxx, who provides the song’s delicate foundation that Barry Can’t Swim layers with a fat nineties breakbeat. The African influence on Mannie is undeniable throughout the album, and this one in particular features a mesmerizing performance from the Ghanan-born Falle Nioke. “Always Get Through To You” may just be my favorite of the unheard songs here, as Mannie combines a supremely funky beat with a choir. Just Lil lends an exceptional, understated vocal feature to “Tell Me What You Need,” a song that wouldn’t be out of place on a Blood Orange record, while “Dance of the Crab” is one of the moments that pull from Barry Can’t Swim’s live show, with a sample from the Brazillian group Trio Ternura. Finally, the album closes with the gently psychedelic “Define Dancing,” completing the globe-spanning journey.
For music writers, the year is full of anticipated albums. Sometimes, they match the internal hype, while often, they fall short. When Will We Land? was unquestionably at the top of my list, defying expectations and more. Barry Can’t Swim proved a true talent with his EPs, but this debut album is a colossal next step. Even if you’re not typically into electronic music, this is still worth diving into, as there are few albums this year that successfully convey a complete vision with what should be universal appeal.
With When Will We Land?, Mannie could change his performing name to Barry Can’t-Miss.
When Will We Land? is available now on the legendary Ninja Tune.