Burial is terrible.
I will admit that I got off the wrong foot with him when breakcore producer FFF recommended him a few years back as a hot tippie and I unreasonably assumed that it would be banging mutant breakcore (totally unfair, like any DJ, FFF is into loads of styles, including italodisco). I whacked it on my mp3 player and waited for the break but it never came. Just some slightly dodgy lingering synths and some horrible tortured vocals.
Perhaps if i was completely whacked out on drugs after a massive weekend (like that will ever happen again), I would enjoy it, but then I'd most probably be listening to summat else, thanks very much. Wevy Stonder or Enduser.
Zoviet France - Lief Lulla (1990)
I do however like Zoviet France, who actually came from the same hinterland - or did they? I'm referring to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, where I'm pretty sure a friend was at art college with Mr. Burial, although Wikipedia claims he's from London, naturally (London's where it's at right, he said and rolled his eyes). In any case, ZF certainly did the whole mournful drone thing way better a long time ago. I was struck by this today and now this has recontextualised my views on Burial since now I see he is simply a repackaged consumer friendly version of what ZF did properly way back..
And now Burial has brought out some new music after quite a break (I tried to encourage him to take up another hobby but he would not listen), so I thought it might be "fun" to give it a listen. As you'll see I wouldn't really call it fun.
Adam Harper who wrote Infinite Music said at a 'Critical Beats' event in London something almost poetic about Burial being the lingering last backward look at the disintegrating carcass of rave. Harper should shave his head and go squat raving, all them slow beats have mashed up his brain. What he said made me think of Walter Benjamin's Angel of History (he may have explicitly mentioned him I don't remember), which is interesting, coz Benjamin also leaves me cold.
Burial & Four Tet - Moth
Pff I'm listening to this right now, it's so crap!! How can intelligent music journalist types like this shit? Different strokes and that, but all in all, at the end of the day, the emperor has no clothes and this is rubbish, predictable house music and we all know what sort of twangers listen to that.
Burial - NYC (2011)
Um well, what's to like? That fucking twostep snare gets quite annoying doesn't it? It just screams bad party at me. Standing around watching people who can't dance latch onto that fucing tap. Modern life is rubbish.
Burial - Street Halo (2011)
Hmm ... I thought this might get interesting to start with but it's no more than a lame house banger. Those carefully quantized castanets are well annoying, kinda stepping up to replace the snare. Oh and a rubbish vocal drifts in. Even a banging house banger would still be pretty lame to be honest. There's a whole world of music out there and people are listening to that. That bass poop noise is annoying and predictable.
Words now fail me.
Time for some good music.
Venetian Snares - Öngyilkos Vasárnap
