BURIAL: UNTRUE (2007)
1) Untitled; 2) Archangel; 3)
Near Dark; 4) Ghost Hardware; 5) Endorphin; 6) In McDonalds; 7) Untrue; 8)
Shell Of Light; 9) Dog Shelter; 10) Homeless; 11) UK; 12) Raver.
Supposedly, the only way I can say something vaguely interesting about Untrue that has not already been said
by the ranters and ravers — and there have been quite a few of them around
2007, with Burial's second album predictably making even more of a splash than
the first one, since this one was already expected — is by keeping up those
visual interpretations. Naturally, Untrue
is a logical sequel to Burial,
conceived and executed in similar ways, built on similar ideas, and producing similar
reactions. But if there are at least a few departures, how does that agree with
the impression of a devastated post-World War III planet?
Well, the one thing that is different is that Untrue
is a little busier. Its compositions may feature two samples instead of one, or
three instead of two. Or there might be one or two extra layers of electronics.
Most interestingly, there is a heavy increase in vocal samples of R&B
artists — compared to Burial,
almost every composition is populated with them, and now Aaliyah, Erykah Badu,
Amanda Perez, and even Christina Aguilera have joined the roster. Coupled with
Burial's dark bass and post-industrial electronics, their vocal loops represent
the kinkiest in ironic deconstruction. If I were any of them, I'd probably
start campaigning for a ban on sampling now
— this is a prime example of «no-fair! use» (as opposed to «unfair»).
On the other hand, there are so many of these
vocal bits now that they can no longer be interpreted as the symbolic last
remains of human voices on the destroyed (deconstructed?) Earth. Rather, this
might be the start of the rebirth cycle — the little ambient melodies that manage
to break through the core of the bass frequencies and the vinyl crackle
represent the world beginning to slowly get back on its feet (even if you have
to use the vocal talents of Ray J. and Beyoncé to achieve the set goals).
In other words, Untrue is not nearly as «creepy» as its predecessor — and,
consequently, not nearly as thrilling, at least not for those who have already,
like me, formulated their own «rules of the universe according to Burial». It only takes playing the
lead-in tracks back-to-back: ʽDistant Lightsʼ with its metallic hum and
clanging midsize robots carrying on with their daily tasks, and ʽArchangelʼ,
with its pseudo-Mellotron electronic backgrounds and Ray J.'s pleading,
high-pitched vocals looped so densely that the whole track begins to resemble
a goddamn prayer.
Of course, we're back in the dark on the
correspondingly titled ʽNear Darkʼ, but even that track is hyper-populated with
vocals that carry out their rotten task of humanizing the robotic beats. ʽGhost
Hardwareʼ is a great title, and the interaction between the sampled Aguilera
and the electronics is ghostly indeed, but still there is no genuine sense of
danger. Darkness, perhaps, but a peaceful, non-threatening — at least, not immediately threatening — kind of
darkness. Later on, there will even be moments of majestic darkness: ʽDog Shelterʼ,
for instance, completely free of beats and sounding as if it had been stolen
out of one of Eno's vaults.
From this point of view, Untrue is a bit of a letdown for me. The combination of dubstep
formalities with ye old time industrial and dark ambient stylistics that this
guy latched on to was not tremendously unique or innovative, but it was quite a
find, certainly much more of a find than you'd expect from one of the several
million wannabe electronic wizards dicking around with prepackaged software.
Here, it already seems a bit sissied-up and diluted, shedding some of that atmosphere
— even if, paradoxically, I suppose that more
work must have been invested in Untrue
than in its predecessor. But this is just one of those cases where too many
ingredients do not exactly spoil the broth, yet somewhat cancel out each other.
Still, a thumbs up, because if my visualisation fails, it's
just my problem, right? In most respects, nothing has really changed,
and if your perception of this kind of music follows more abstract guidelines,
you might not even notice this seeming transition from «dark black» to «dark
gray» in this guy's work (to an extent, reflected even on the album sleeves, as
I have noticed). In any case, the moods are still there, along with an
occasional surprise or two (such as the evil bass swoops on ʽEtched Headplateʼ,
grinning at the wimpy R&B samples), and even if the world according to
Burial is no longer as thoroughly bleak a place to live in, it is still desolate
enough to impress a mind like mine, normally bored to death with this kind of electronic
patchwork.
Check "Untrue" (MP3) on Amazon
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