The latest release on XL Recordings, “Dreamfear/Boy Sent From Above,” from the enigmatic maestro Burial harkens back to elements of his earlier work while incorporating the more rave-y direction his music has taken lately.
Burial’s music can’t really be called Electronic “Dance” Music. It often begs the question, ‘can this even be called music?’ It’s obtuse, meandering, and even disturbing. Can you already tell that I love it more than life itself?
“Dreamfear” starts in quintessential Burial form with vinyl crackle and pop—the white noise canvas upon which he will spill his auditory paint daubs. After the build, we get a hobbling Breakbeat, and what feels like the memory of an Acid House tune.
One thing that has always drawn me to Burial’s music and forces me to listen harder than I would to any other artist is the frequent use of samples from film and video games. You definitely heard a lightsaber at 2:00… right? Anyways, the track then moves into its main progression, which introduces a rave stab. In the latter half of the tune, the track switches up into a delightfully corny rap-rock styling, with a chipmunk voice repeating “back from the dead rock up ya head” – at least, I think that’s what he’s saying. It doesn’t matter; the point is taken. Clip on your wallet chain and turn your hat backwards for this section.
In the last few minutes, the track changes up into a 4/4 beat. “Dreamfear” is a great bargain as you get four tracks for the price of one! I’m being crass of course, and while I prefer the next track, this is a great start to the journey.
In an echo of my all-time favorite Burial tune “Come Down to Us”, “Boy Sent From Above” uses angelic themes to impress the ethereal vibe to the limit. This is the music they play in the chillout room of raver heaven. The backbone of this song’s instrumental is styled like an 80s action-schlock soundtrack. Around the middle, it relaxes into an interlude, an introspective, blissful reverie dreamscape that calls up memories of swaying in sync with a crowd of candy-ravers at a 90s Trance underground. Near the end, it completely changes up and becomes an Electro-rave banger, albeit a tinny, weak one.
One of the things most loved about Burial’s music is how it meanders through several seemingly incongruous movements, almost as though it’s a collection of songs rather than just one. But this clashing format forces the listener to pick out patterns, looking for order in the noise. It creates a sort of meta-listening experience, picking up on things like the frequency content being similarly filtered and distant throughout, as though we’re listening to the track being played through a bad car stereo.
“Dreamfear/Boy Sent From Above” adds to a discography of pure gold and demonstrates that Burial is not slowing down anytime soon.
-Dylan Brady
Check out Dirty Epic music recommendations here.
Listen to our podcasts here.
Find out more about our Events here.
Listen to our review picks here.
