Review Summary: Ok what happened here...
What makes Burial different from other UK garage or dubstep musicians is the sense of purpose in his music. There is a romanticism with the past, isolation, heartbreak, longing, and just romanticism. Only few producers can imbue this passion in their music and with Burial's new EP we get those same emotions but handled in a different manner. In this ep we get Burials key atmosphere mixed with other genres he hasn't tampered with in the past. So the question is, was it worth it?
On the first track we are introduced again to ghostly vocals that Burial is so damn good at creating and then a ferocious drum loop is brought upon the listener making it a wonderful dance track. But there are some technicalities that need to be put in check here and mostly that would have to do with the drum loop. It is stale. It is a drum loop that any amateur Jungle/ Drum and Bass producer could easily manage. Even though Burial works his magic there is a sense that Burial is walking into unknown territory. But thankfully at the 5 minute mark and onward we get better and more original ideas that one could say "only Burial can do this".
The next two tracks 'Hiders' and 'Come down to Us' have some of those previous technicality issues that I spoke of before. It has to do with the genres Burial hasn't tampered with before, his take on 80's synth pop and hip hop is fairly weak. It gets so cheesy to a point that it sounds like a different producer trying to make a Burial track. In Hiders we get a 80's kick and snare beat that just sounds really amateurish, it makes the emotional build up to this point worthless. The first seven minutes of 'Come down to Us' is excellent but I am laughing my ass off when Burial introduces these predictable hip hop DJ scratches followed by a mediocre hip hop beat. Burial takes a walk into these other territories of music and does not come out successful.
What this EP does better than his other two released in 2012 is that there is a sense of story. And the main idea throughout the course of the album is about open-mindedness on sexuality, as we get a speech from a transgendered person(s) at the end of the album. This element of a storyline is what was desperately missing from 'Kindred' and 'Truant/ Rough sleeper' where the segments were choppy and abstruse. In this EP it sounds as one big movement the ideas aren't scattered but they are whole. Even though most of the ideas are abysmal Burial does take a leap of faith with Rival Dealer.
