Burial - Untrue

Dubstep has come to the fore in Edinburgh and Glasgow over the last year or two, establishing itself as the genre of choice for those who favour intelligent dance music. Scene leader Burial's second full-length album Untrue eschews the drop-heavy digital ska of Tempa and Hot Flush artists, such as Skream and Scuba, in favour of blessed-out synths and subtle 2-step. Archangel drifts along with a filtered and processed male vocal riding a broken beat, Burial's trademark pops and clicks running as a gentle counterpoint to the looped, garage-influenced samples. The quieter tracks (Ghost Hardware, In McDonalds) evoke the grey, eroded urban scenes of Burial's native London, confirming his position as the foremost atmospheric chronicler of the modern city-sprawl. Influences include classic garage and bassline house, and serve to round out the evocative, delicately textured vocals: you could call Untrue a coffee-table dubstep album “as much influenced by 4 Hero and the ghostly beats of Massive Attack as those of his dubstep peers. This is no bad thing“ although there are few tracks here with heavy, dancefloor-oriented drops, Untrue is nonetheless an album that will appeal to dubsteppers and the post-club chillout crowd alike. In particular, the title track and Raver stand out, with a timeless, ethereal beauty to their fragile structures. Found sounds that recall broken lighters, twisted rizlas and guttering match flames evoke a wasted smoker's paradise: a beautifully stoned, 4am bliss. [Bram Gieben]