Burial - Antidawn EP

It's been released on bandcamp now.  Much vaporisation.

  On 12/15/2021 at 3:38 AM, usagi said:

he hasn't done anything worth a damn since Kindred. that's coming up on nearly 10 years.

I realised after re-reading this that Truant/Rough Sleeper came out after Kindred. that's the last decent thing he did, late 2012.

  On 12/14/2021 at 2:17 PM, scumtron said:

Bah. Don't you all just know how this is going to sound? Poor attempt of ambient soundscapes with echoes, crackles and distant chimpmunk samples?

OMG I was so right!

I really like it, this feels like burial ambient done right. Some beautiful stuff here.

Gonna check it out when I get back from my icy bike ride.

This is really nice and think it will be a grower

Agree on this being Burial ambient done right, though I enjoyed some of his other ambient stuff alot of it missed that burial magic for me where as this very much has it. 

Listening now. Awesome. If you're not a fan of his style, you're never gonna like this. But this fulfils all my needs.

I wonder if he’s sponsored by Zippo? If not, he should be! 

Really like this.  

Obviously (intentionally?) derivative of KLF's "Chill Out", or perhaps a wilful misinterpretation;  here, "chill" becomes "hypothermia"

There's some beautiful moments in it, but they're fleeting moments with no real connection to each other. If I was to guess, this is a collection of 30-60 second loops that he has made/collected over the years (perhaps as prototypes for longer tracks that never materialised) and rather than using them for outros at the end of "proper" tunes like he usually does, he has made an LP-length collage of them, using the familiar vinyl crackle to separate each section. It's sort of a Burial ambient compilation, which is still cool, but it feels so fractured that it's hard to really connect with, because by the time you're invested emotionally in the tune, the next part plays which is totally different and takes you out of the moment. With ambient, being in the zone is crucial and getting pulled out of it is jarring as hell.

I do see the "Chill Out" inspiration, but whereas that album flows seamlessly, this is way more awkwardly paced. It's still well worth a listen and as I say, there's some real gems in it (New Love in particular, and it's also the tune where the individual segments work best together) but sitting through 45 minutes to find the bits that resonate for 45 seconds or so will put me off future listens I think. I just kinda wish he developed it a bit more and it could have been something special.

After two thorough listens I doubt I'll ever listen to this again. I love the albums and a handful of the EPs (Tunes 2011-2019 is more than enough of that), the ambient bits work when part of a whole, but to me, they don't carry that well on their own for 45 minutes.

agree that this is burial ambient done "right". at least his best attempt yet.

this is just a massive collage of intros, outros, and interludes. which are always the most lush parts of his tunes.

i've said to myself before that burial should make an entire album of that stuff, and now that he has - its obvious this stuff works better in the context of some sick beats.

its all just unfocused and fleeting and still comes up a bit short - BUT - this is one of the best things he has done in a while and i ain't gonna hate and i dig it.

anyways its just as good as i was expecting it to be

just finished my first listen and quite enjoyed. it's a miserable, rainy winter's day here so it landed quite well for me.

brisk's review definitely has some valid points though. i think with some more focus, this EP could have been something really special.

Also agree with some of points Brisk raises actually but I think what holds this together is a consistent atmosphere and feel to the whole e.p. 

Plus being a bit all over the place and a collage style mish mash of bits & pieces has been a big part of Burials thing since his albums really.

Would also like him to attempt a more standard album again 1 day but not sure if it will ever happen tbh! 

  On 1/6/2022 at 2:35 PM, brisk said:

There's some beautiful moments in it, but they're fleeting moments with no real connection to each other. If I was to guess, this is a collection of 30-60 second loops that he has made/collected over the years (perhaps as prototypes for longer tracks that never materialised) and rather than using them for outros at the end of "proper" tunes like he usually does, he has made an LP-length collage of them, using the familiar vinyl crackle to separate each section. It's sort of a Burial ambient compilation, which is still cool, but it feels so fractured that it's hard to really connect with, because by the time you're invested emotionally in the tune, the next part plays which is totally different and takes you out of the moment. With ambient, being in the zone is crucial and getting pulled out of it is jarring as hell.

IMO the artist Tape Loop Orchestra nails what is hinted at (and what I wanted) with Burial e.g.

  On 12/17/2021 at 11:53 AM, Amen Warrior said:

I wonder if that russian knockoff burial is still ripping off good burial or has he also moved onto shit burial?

I can't remember the name

which one? there's Volor Flex but also Ghostek and Nocow

My pet peeve with Burial is that he's so consistent, he's consistently catering to those accustomed and acclimated to his style and sound, and there's no sense of adventure, just nodding off to nostalgia. He's got his signature style, but after that it's mostly just variations on a theme, a one trick pony. Don't get me wrong, Burial is still way, way up there with his compositions, arrangements and style, but wouldn't you rather be surprised than comforted?

I also agree with brisk. It's fractured and fleeting and by the time you're admiring some really beautiful moment, it's gone.

However, I think this might be kind of intentional . OPN does this a lot. A couple of minutes of meh,  then ten seconds of something extraordinary - then back to the mundane again. Even BOC mentioned this way back in that old XLR8 interview circa Geogaddi. It's made that way to keep you coming back for that few second hit.

  On 1/6/2022 at 2:35 PM, brisk said:

I do see the "Chill Out" inspiration

Speaking of I swear I heard that sampled, specifically the bits where KLF sampled the pedal steel guitar from Fleetwood Mac. As seen on reddit a user noticed that "Shadow Paradise" has a harmonium sample from Jeff Buckley's "Lover, You Should've Come Over'

I enjoyed my first listen and even though I've previously been lukewarm about this ambient suite pieces I found this one engrossing in a subtle way. I had no idea it was 44 minutes long until I looked, it felt like I listened to something closer to 20 minutes (I'm also at work so maybe there's a perception issue there)

Burial is making music concrete now and I find that encouraging and inspiring, even if it's not going to be my favorite era of his. It's still wildly unique compared to most artists and I applaud him and Kode9 for not conceding to any pressure to return to more percussive and straight ahead tracks. 

I get the impression too Burial isn't comfortable with making ambient with looped riffs and melodies but rather playing around with fleeting and brief samples and segments. It's the transition and out of the blue stabs of different sounds and vocals in these tracks that make them interesting. It's sort of like that strange space when you are falling asleep and you can almost see and hear your own thoughts fall into place haphazardly. 

  On 1/6/2022 at 4:31 PM, joshuatxuk said:

It's sort of like that strange space when you are falling asleep and you can almost see and hear your own thoughts fall into place haphazardly. 

I agree, there's a definite hypnagogic/hypnapompic quality to this release, but as soon as you wake up or fall asleep, it evaporates.

  On 1/6/2022 at 4:31 PM, joshuatxuk said:

I get the impression too Burial isn't comfortable with making ambient with looped riffs and melodies but rather playing around with fleeting and brief samples and segments. It's the transition and out of the blue stabs of different sounds and vocals in these tracks that make them interesting.

I 100% agree, Come Down To Us is a perfect example of this.

Listened to it twice now, it flies by which is definetely a good thing. I get some of you guys' points but I don't see the 60 second loop thing as a negative. I feel like this project was meant to flow like one long piece of fading memories. It works really well if you see it as just that. Whereas his other EPs and albums sound like nighttime projects, this one definetely reminds me of a chilly winter morning.

Hmm... this is not my bag on first listen. When you remove the beats it becomes this structureless soup. Too busy to be ambient, not busy enough to be a tune. Feels a bit corny too. Maybe it's a grower?

At least we will always have Untrue.