Compassion (Forest Swords album)

Barnes has a background in graphic design, and designed all the artwork for the album himself.[7] In an interview with The Vinyl Factory, he said he chose the album’s cover photograph because ‘It just seemed to sum up what I try and make with the music: something that’s timeless… and something that veers between different emotions’, describing it as a ‘visual metaphor’ for the ‘feel and themes of the record’.[7] Barnes describes a book on Francis Bacon’s paintings and ’the photos they found on his studio floor by John Deakin’ as a ‘singular… style reference for the artwork’ on Compassion.[7]

The art booklet that accompanies the deluxe edition of the album includes a variety of found images sourced from "old books and magazines". Many of the images are "portraits of people who'd emigrated" through Barnes's "home port" of Liverpool in the early 1900s.[7]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	82/100[8]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[9]
The A.V. Club	A−[10]
Clash	8/10[11]
Exclaim!	8/10[12]
Pitchfork	7.8/10[13]
PopMatters	[14]
Q	[15]
Record Collector	[16]
Resident Advisor	4.5/5[17]
Rolling Stone	[18]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, Compassion received an average score of 82, based on 15 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[8] Q magazine gave the album a score of 4 out of 5 and said it "unfolds like a journey through a bustling soundscape of found sounds, instrumental loops and post-dubstep production".[15] Loud and Quiet gave the album 8 out of 10 and stated it is "arresting in its austerity".[19] Pitchfork rated the album 7.8; "more ambitious and varied while retaining the uncanniness he's known for".[13] PopMatters gave it a score of 8, saying "A dazzling, evocative album that acts as the perfect soundtrack to the precarious times we live in".[20] The A.V. Club called it "passionately realized" in an A− review.[21] Clash gave it an 8 out of 10 review, describing it as "wordless protest music that impresses with its sheer thematic ambition".[11] Exclaim! awarded it 8 out of 10, saying "the goosebumps will cover most of your body". It charted at number 9 on their Top 10 Dance and Electronic Albums of 2017.[12] The Quietus said that he had "lost none of his power to enthral, disturb and enthuse".[22] Compassion was included in Albums of the Week lists by Rolling Stone,[23] Entertainment Weekly[24] and Vulture.[25] It was album of the week on BBC 6 Music and Bleep.[26] Holly Dicker of Resident Advisor described the music on Compassion as experimental.[17]