RxRy - Alpha

(Sweat Lodge Guru, 2011)

Hyper-ambient wonder-kid, Not Noah Lennox, or some couple of dudes now (people seem to be thinking ("Neither Noah Lennox?")), RxRy, finally, after three bedroom-churned bliss-outs (and some EPs)--freely distributed--can now be heard where it was appropriate he/they should be heard from all along: etched into a vinyl plate.  Alpha finds RxRy perpetuating the crumbling pulse-heavy astro-electronics of previous albums, only this time with a healthy dose of ADHD.  Clocking in somewhere between an EP and a full-length, Alpha is headphone candy of the brain-burstingly serene variety, in as much as the two can coexist.  The step up to a physical format is much deserved.  Hopefully the first in a long line RxRy tunes pressed to wax.

rxry - alpha (album preview) by experimedia

Burial + Four Tet - Moth / Wolf Cub 12"

Burial + Four Tet
Moth/Wolf Cub 12”
(05.2009, Text Records)
RIYL = Burial and Four Tet, Pantha du Prince

Wow. I don’t know how this was organized, but it is quite obvious already that the teaming of Burial and Four Tet was the dream split that every fan of electronic music subconsciously felt would be awarded them after being successfully admitted through the pearly gates of heaven. In terms of electronic music it doesn’t get much better than either Four Tet or Burial and in terms of 2009 it isn’t going to get much better than this split 12”. And I make that statement fully aware of the Pantha du Prince 12” and full length from The Field that is looming on the horizon. I’ve listened to them all and this, this record I am gushing over recklessly is the emergent winner of the trio (The Field and Pantha du Prince are still swell). The LP is just two tracks, “Moth” and “Wolf Cub,” and the glorious mystery behind this wax is that no one knows who contributed what track or if both are the result of a collaboration or what. Initially, I totally thought that “Moth” was Burial’s (with its submerged vocals and muted rhythms) and “Wolf Cub” was Four Tet’s (with it’s watery electronic trickle-loop and its layer percussion), but the more I listen the more I am lost as to who has done what where. As far as I am concerned, the “+” in the artist signification means that each of these tracks were molded with both minds and that the 12” is the work of the two as a single entity. Hopefully, this is just the appetizer, because I cannot get enough of this stuff. The real beauty of it is the simplicity. The effortlessness in which two perfect slabs of micro electronics were crafted as if they were the blue print for everything that proceeded them and just needed time to be thawed out. Intensely perfect and a top contender for the year. I’m not some electro-head, but there is no doubt that if this were expanded into a full length that it would be the strongest contender thus for album of the year in 2009.

- Thistle

Burial on MySpace
Four Tet on MySpace

Burial - Untrue

Burial
Untrue
(11.2007, Hyperdub)
7.5/10

I am not even going to pretend that I know anything about the vast universe of UK techno. With more spliced up subgenres then I could keep track of and a very distinct taste, entry into its dark underworld is virtually impossible. Yet, even with its uninviting labyrinthine artist directory, Burial was still hard to avoid. When last year’s self titled debut hit, those who took noticed almost unanimously marked it as the savior of electronic music and a crossover akin to Portishead’s Dummy. Despite my curiosity at such a rare reaction, Burial’s “Dubstep” was far from the home grown Brooklyn indie that I have been familiar with and even with my much prided openness to new musical forms, Burial provided a difficult listen to swallow without employing preconceived notions of dark clubs and glow sticks. Basically, Burial proved me the pompous music snob that I am. Well, in effort to expand and destroy any hidden pretensions that are constantly a part of any opinion, no matter how honest, I have collapsed to the even more highly lauded follow up: Burial’s Untrue. Now I won’t be able to give you a rundown of the differences of these two albums because I still haven’t heard the self titled debut yet (but will). All I got is a newbie assessment of something almost completely foreign and insidiously provocative. Burial’s beats are crisp, rhythmically beating the pavement like the mechanics of placid rainfall in a dark city. Accompanied by a dark wash of synths, the album occupies an introverted headspace making the album perfect for oversized headphones. While variation obviously infects each track the album doesn’t stray too far from it roots. My biggest stumbling block here is the vocal samples. Harkening too easily the dreaded dance floors that I previously alluded to, the vocals come off as stale and tactless. Granted, a few tracks somehow make these same cheesy vocals work, such as album opener, "Archangel," one of the best single songs of the year, but the album still drags slightly with these samples on the majority of tracks. Burial’s claim to fame is the ability to still make a highly listenable, downtrodden dubstep album that you can’t help but listen to even with the knee jerk reaction to the samples.

-Mr. Thistle

Burial on Myspace