Since his 2006 debut full-length and 2007's Untrue, which stand as two of dubstep's crowning achievements, Burial has been relatively quiet, releasing a pair of collaborations with Four Tet and Radiohead's Thom Yorke in nondescript packaging. His new 12" on Hyperdub is a formal breaking of silence, then—his first solo work since Untrue.
A-side and title track "Street Halo" sports deep, eerie swaths of bass, ambient crackling, a clicking two-step rhythm, and Burial's inimitable signature—a disembodied, soulful vocal floating in and out of the mix. It sounds tailor-made to soundtrack a walk through a dim alley lit by flickering streetlights, coated in a fresh layer of rain. While that is no surprise, the mood is offset by the track's quick, danceable shuffle—upbeat by Burial standards—that fondly brings to mind "Unite," his arresting, overlooked cut exclusive to the Soul Jazz compilation Box of Dub.
The first B-side, "NYC," would have sounded at home on Untrue. It follows the template carved out by immediately memorable songs like "Archangel" and "Raver," featuring a R&B-tinged female vocal loop pitched up like a chipmunk, pleading its cause in ghostly chipmunk echoes ("Didn't you know... this is love?") over a gentle, shuffling rhythm. It is by no means a departure from Burial's core aesthetic, and it sounds ridiculous on paper—but it is positively spellbinding.
The second B-side, "Stolen Dog," initially recalls the melody of Corey Hart's hit "Sunglasses at Night", then dives into less embarrassing territory along the lines of Burial's debut LP—a widescreen, ambient-dub soundscape with a pair of warped, unintelligible vocals. It seems cut short at six minutes, though, and I would have preferred it to sprawl out perhaps twice as long. More than the other two tracks, "Stolen Dog" sounds like Burial toying with his well-established sound, trying to figure out how he can push the boundaries of his work. (Hint: probably not by sounding like "Sunglasses at Night.")
As usual, Burial paints with an subtle, distinctive palette of sounds. I admire his strict quality control, and his music remains so strikingly unique that he need not deviate much from his blueprint laid down in the past. Here's hoping Street Halo is the prelude to a new, full-length LP later this year.
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