We all know about the "Difficult Second Album" — the oft-rushed record made amid suffocating expectations and incessant touring. But some follow-ups not only make good on a promising debut but also retroactively imbue the entire enterprise with more intrigue than could have been recognized at the start. In 2007, M.I.A.’s Kala and LCD Soundsystem’s Sound of Silver entered the ranks of this special kind of second album, and so did Burial’s Untrue.
Part of the allure of dubstep, the sound that Burial — an anonymous London musician — helped establish, is that it’s so sparse and elemental that it eludes description almost by design: To formally address the qualities of dubstep is to paradoxically do damage to its most evocative parts — the parts that aren’t there, the haunted parts, the spectral spaces that surround the tangible sounds and make it all happen through the force of their very absence. It’s complicated, but it’s also extremely compelling — and more immediately so on Untrue than it was on the self-titled 2006 debut that made Burial’s name.
Untrue benefits from the conspicuous presence of vocals that prove newly forceful and free. Whereas voices served as atmospheric agents on the debut, here they drive tracks into the space of certifiable songs. “Archangel” announces the change at the start, with a mercury-mouthed male diva singing about “kissing you” and “holding you” in desperate, unsettling tones. A similar strategy plays out in “Near Dark,” in which the vocal sentiment in the refrain “I can’t take my eyes off you” applies just as much to ears.
The way that Burial foregrounds vocals as melody-makers veers back toward 2-step garage, the poppy post-jungle sound that ultimately evolved into grime and then into dubstep. The formal lures of dubstep proper remain here, but they also sound more kinetic and progressive. Even when the voices fade and drift like mist in the background, there are moods to be gleaned from the beats — the ticks and trips that toggle like drum ’n’ bass risen from the grave as something irretrievably decayed but also irresistibly angelic.
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Avg: 4.0 (1353 ratings)
- Date Released: November 5, 2007
- Genre: Electronic
- Style: Electronic Dub
- Label: Hyperdub / IODA
Irretrievably decayed, irresistibly angelic: Burial.
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We Say...
We all know about the "Difficult Second Album" — the oft-rushed record made amid suffocating expectations and incessant touring. But some follow-ups not only make good on a promising debut but also retroactively imbue the entire enterprise with more intrigue than could have been recognized at the start. In 2007, M.I.A.’s Kala and LCD Soun... -
They Say...
Burial, the self-titled debut album by an anonymous dubstep producer from London, proved one of the more surprising success stories of 2006. It was voted Album of the Year by the influential experimental-electronic magazine The Wire and was fawned over by a long list of other media, from Mixmag to Pitchfork. Upon the release of Untrue, the secon...Burial, the self-titled debut album by an anonymous dubstep producer from London, proved one of the more surprising success stories of 2006. It was voted Album of the Year by the influential experimental-electronic magazine The Wire and was fawned over by a long list of other media, from Mixmag to Pitchfork. Upon the release of Untrue, the second Burial album, the cycle of acclaim appeared likely to repeat itself. While Untrue isn't likely to win many, if any, Album of the Year honors (in the wake of the debut's acclaim, the novelty of Burial lessened considerably), the album's arguably even better than its predecessor. Untrue finds its anonymous producer streamlining the varied approach of his debut, resulting is a uniform collection of tracks that are subtly evolving variations of each other. Following an untitled, foreboding intro, Untrue kicks off with the simply melodic "Archangel" and culminates 45 minutes later with the majestic "Raver," a summary conclusion. There aren't any MC-featuring tracks such as "Spaceape" as there were on the debut, nor is there any hard-hitting tech-step à la "Southern Comfort"; instead, every track on Untrue seems cut of the same cloth, emphasizing ghostly vocal loops, shadowy ambient motifs, and the warped rhythmic signatures of 2-step. One of the key highlights is "Ghost Hardware," the closest the album comes to genuine dance music. It's followed by another standout, "Endorphin," an ambient interlude that shimmers for three minutes, entirely free of beats, before the sub-frequency bassline of "Etched Headplate," one of the album's most melodic and memorable songs, cuts through the stillness. Untrue is most evocative when listened to in sequence, for the moods and characteristics of each track evolve as the album progresses. Once "Raver" brings the proceedings to a close, though, it's the overall impression of the Untrue that stays with you, more so than any particular tracks. If you can appreciate the style of dubstep employed by Burial, it's easy to fall head over heels for Untrue, an album on which there are absolutely no mainstream-crossover concessions, no ego trips, and no willful stylistic variation -- an album where the music, a singular style of it, takes center stage with no distractions or sideshows, where there's never the urge to skip to the next track, because they're all part and parcel of the greater whole. -
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| 01. |  |
Untitled |
0:50 |
|
| 02. | |
Archangel |
4:02 |
|
| 03. | |
Near Dark |
3:58 |
|
| 04. | |
Ghost Hardware |
4:57 |
|
| 05. | |
Endorphin |
3:01 |
|
| 06. | |
Etched Headplate |
6:03 |
|
| 07. | |
In McDonalds |
2:11 |
|
| 08. | |
Untrue |
6:20 |
|
| 09. | |
Shell Of Light |
4:44 |
|
| 10. | |
Dog Shelter |
3:03 |
|
| 11. | |
Homeless |
5:24 |
|
| 12. | |
UK |
1:44 |
|
| 13. | |
Raver |
4:59 |
|
13 Total Tracks, 51:16 Total Length
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Credits
- Burial - Audio Production
-
Other Details
- Instruments:
- Sound Effects //
- Synthesizer Bass //
- Electronic Drums //
- Synthesizer Pads
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