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Burial :: Untrue

Hyperdub

Reviewed on Thursday, December 13, 2007 by Noah Levine

The anonymous producer behind the work of Burial is letting his dubstep sounds progress and on his impressive sophomore album he can be found chasing the transient hints of beauty to be found in the confines of urban desolation. Untrue is dark puddles, broken shadows, cracked brick and the tinted nighttime sky explained in sound. Burial takes his beats far from the club, layering things up with asphyxiating bass, low strings, hisses, clicks and detached vocal passages that he builds into unearthly choruses. Sometimes dubstep’s signature breaks become an afterthought, but the subtle drums on tracks like “Etched Headplate” “Shell of Light” and “Archangel” still bring plenty of momentum. The heavily processed vocals are the heart of the album and Burial uses the concise samples both as musical building blocks and narrative engines. In just 20 words “Untrue” tells a tale of betrayal and heartbreak, and “Raver” uses little more than a simple refrain to deliver its dark but hopeful message.

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