Bolted (album)

Before he began working on the record, the musician spent a few years writing music for ballets, films and video games.[1] Barnes recorded the album from 2022 to 2023 at a warehouse factory space in his hometown Liverpool.[2] While putting the record together, he was coping with "psychedelic amounts of pain" from a leg injury.[3] Barnes announced the project on 5 September 2023.[4] He is set to embark on a tour through Europe promoting the album in November 2023.[5]

His first single in five years titled "Butterfly Effect" was released on 11 July 2023. It features a previously unreleased vocal sample of Swedish-British singer Neneh Cherry. The song arrived with a b-side called "Tar". The second single, "The Low", was originally intended for American singer Yoko Ono and combines elements of both the start and the end of the album.[6] It wraps up the main sentiments he had when writing for the record.[7] An accompanying music video directed by Sam Wiehl elaborates on the visual direction of the record.[8]

The album has received strong reviews including 9/10 from The Line Of Best Fit website, 82% from Beats Per Minute website, a review calling it "absolutely phenomenal" by The Quietus, 4/5 from Mojo, 4/5 from All Music and a review stating the album has "an undeniable sense of grandeur that will take your breathe away" from Electronic Sound. [9][10][11][12]