In a rare interview Burial once said, “I love…old jungle and garage tunes, when you didn’t know anything about them, and nothing was between you and the tunes.” This philosophy certainly rings true in his artistic persona and his music. Burial was totally anonymous when he released his self-titled debut album in 2006 and Untrue in 2007. Nobody knew who he was until speculation became so rampant on the internet (some journalists were convinced that he was an alter ego of Aphex Twin) that he chose to reveal who he was: just a South Londoner named William Bevan who wanted to make some dubstep tunes. And some tunes he made.
Untrue is legendary in certain circles of electronic music lovers, and for good reason. As haunting and ethereal as his first album, Burial, his creative use of vocal samples lend a bizarre sense of warmth to the dark and grimy tracks. Shadows of ambience and the captivating, almost otherworldly rhythms of 2-step tie everything together. It is truly unique and has managed to find a following even among those who don’t normally enjoy dubstep. And the beauty of it all is that there truly is no barrier between you and the music: no self-indulgent joke tracks, no featured guest artists, nothing in the liner notes except a simple “Thank You”. Not a single piece feels like it doesn’t fit.
This is my favorite electronic music album of all time. It is a masterpiece, and any fan of electronic music owes it to themselves to check it out.
-Cosmonaut