Like several other editions of !K7's long-running DJ-Kicks series, Forest Swords' installment is far from being a traditional, flawlessly beatmatched DJ mix. Instead, it's an eclectic selection that picks apart the producer's influences, presented in the style of someone like John Peel rather than a typical club DJ. More often than not, he'll make beatless, dreamlike transitions or loop a brief rhythmic section and tumble into the next track rather than match up tempos. The first few selections are experimental pieces that focus on shifting dynamics and floating drones, some of which may seem uncomfortably sparse at first. The beat-driven portion of the mix begins with Rhythm & Sound's "Best Friend," a minimal dub track with heartbreaking lyrics about betrayal from Love Joy. Things start to get a bit more turbulent with the crunchy, abstract drum'n'bass of "The Truths" by Tokyo Prose & Fis. After a vintage Dead Can Dance track comes an exclusive Forest Swords original, "Crow," which demonstrates how much dread and suspense he can conjure up with just a midtempo thump and a few distorted tones. The rest of the mix's midsection drifts between prickly IDM (Disjecta, Mira Calix) and complex, emotive techno (Pantha du Prince, Djrum), dovetailing into junkshop chaos with Demdike Stare's "Mnemosyne" and revisiting Orbital's all-time classic "The Box." The mix's final portion moves far away from electronic music, flipping from the arresting voices of the London Bulgarian Choir to the fragile folk of Vashti Bunyan to the captivating water drums of the Baka Forest People of Southeast Cameroon, and while all of these pieces sound wonderful, their juxtaposition at the end of the mix sounds somewhat random. Still, as a whole, Forest Swords' DJ-Kicks is a worthwhile excursion in the genre-agnostic spirit of great free-form radio.