Review Summary: Burial takes his beatless music to the next level
On
ANTIDAWN EP, Burial finally gives us more than a passing impression of what his music sounds like without stepping rhythms or claps. That's right ladies, gents, people—Burial has released an ambient album.
All I really want is you...close to me...again...
Ambient music is scattered throughout Burial's discography. Nearly all of his releases include at least one ambient tune or section, though this never became a focus until well into the 2010s. The
Nighmarket/Young Death and
Subtemple/Beachfires releases saw Burial applying his early 2010 multi-section approach to an ambient tilt, with mixed results. Following this, Burial focused on crafting a whole ambient tune (much like the ones on S/T and
Untrue) as the foil to a heavier, beat-focused A-side. The result was better, but still not as impactful as we were accustomed to. Many found themselves asking: what ever happened to the artist that could make music feel like it was made just for me? With each release, Burial was feeling farther and farther away.
Then
Chemz/Dolphinz dropped. The format wasn't altogether too different, but the music was. “Chemz” was arguably the heaviest tune Burial had ever made, and “Dolphinz” was the first to truly succeed at combining the multi-section approach with a fully ambient experience. But as the only other song on a two-track EP, its impact was questionable, and its reception was varied. With this new release, however, Burial successfully expands on the precedent set by “Dolphinz.” There are no stepping or ferocious beats here, and those looking for a retread of old releases will be disappointed. Focusing entirely on the softer side of his music for the first time, Burial breathes new life into his discography, creating his first masterpiece in nearly a decade.
The title seems to reference the resistance to daylight that a raver often feels in the wee hours of the morning, which would fall in line with the familiar Burial ethos (ever been at a party at dawn, wishing the sun would just wait and give you more bloody time to dance, or walked home afterwards wishing you could go back for just one more tune?), but truthfully, this plays like a breakup album. Burial's music is no stranger to r&b-leaning samples that touch on the powerful qualities of love, ecstasy, loneliness, and heartbreak, but here, the vocal samples stack on top of one another to form a narrative that sounds like someone reflecting on a past love and nursing a broken heart. Whether this is a literal person or a metaphor for the raves that Burial's music is often centered around is debatable (“Upstairs Flat” certainly provides a convincing argument for the former), but the story-telling is undeniably different here. And the music is
massive.
Without hats, claps, and kicks to hug the vocal samples, human voice takes center stage, complemented by woozy pads, delicious organ and piano lines, softly chiming bells, and distorted fuzz galore. The easiest comparisons for melodies and overall sentiment would be
Kindred,
Untrue, and
Street Halo, but don't let this fool you—there is a new vigor here that gives the music its own character. This may not be apparent on first blush, but with repeat spins, nearly 45 minutes will pass by in a heartbeat. Fresh, focused, and immersive,
ANTIDAWN EP is a real treat for those who can close their eyes and listen. Open your heart, and let it take you into the night.
