CD Review

Burial - Untrue (Hyperdub)

A friend ripped me a copy of this CD recently and I had no idea who Burial was prior. After listening I'm intrigued to learn more, but as I'm finding out, not many people know who this guy is.

This album is downright eerie, but in a good way. Dark beats which come off sounding mechanical and simplistic combine with deep textured bass and keyboard patterns to form a melancholy back drop for the manipulated vocal samples that are often soaked in reverb and delays. There's also a constant record crackle throughout the album which pretty much ties it all together.

Burial uses the vocal samples more as an instrument and less as a "lyric" in standard song structure. There are no verses or choruses in these tracks, which makes the album have more of an instrumental feel. But that's not to say there is no meaning in the few words that are present. In fact, he says very little in order to say a lot. Take the album's title song "Untrue", with the lone vocal being "The pain I feel inside, and its all because you lied".

Pain and anguish is the common theme I get from this disc which is rare to find in UK club music. To read an interview with Burial from the UK's Guardian, he explains how he would wait for nightfall or summer to end in order to work on the album. He said he enjoyed working on it while knowing everyone else was asleep. The music and its mood reflect this notion throughout. If you're into darker underground UK club music, this is a great album for you. It reminds me of early Tricky, The Baby Namboos, or even The Streets. I'm not sure where in the States you can find it in CD form, but is available through i-tunes.