Untrue - Burial

Burial's critically acclaimed sophomore album still holds up to this day as one of the greatest electronic albums of all time.

"Untrue" is everything the title, the cover art, and the state of London at the time says it would be. A gentle yet grimy, soft yet ominous, immersive yet cold record, "Untrue" is a stony testament to the ghostly atmosphere of London in the 2000s. Rooted firmly in the sounds of 2-step/UK garage and old dubstep, before it became the hard-hitting phenomenon it is today with the rise of Skrillex, the mood of "Untrue" is unmatched. The movement of this album is much like a flâneur—a perspective that strolls through and observes the idle affairs of a frigid city, a witness to the dull metal finish of brutalist streets and the faceless identities of passerbies, a spectator of moodier tracks like "Near Dark" and more evocative tracks like "Dog Shelter". Atmospheric but not quite engaging, skirting the edge of your attention, Burial has achieved a certain esoteric quality with this record, and a fantastic one at that. Much of it is poised on an oxymoronic sense of intruige at the grey monotony of the environment, an intruige that constantly repels you and simultaneously pulls you to keep listening. And, old as it is, the precise production on "Untrue" is awe-inspiring. Burial's affinity for sampling is on legendary display here, incorporating distorted pop-esque singing and drawn-out, almost ethereal vocal samples, all framed by melancholic basslines and loosely-held breakbeats. The ambience is incredible—in part a product of the mood, but also very much bolstered by the production, whether that be the spacious mixing or the well-timed synth padding, or the basslines that drift past like a watching ghost in the gloom of night. This is not only an album whose background ambience shifts sullenly, but also an album which provides a background to the otherwise unnoticed life of London's nooks and crannies.

It's easy to get hung up talking about all the cultural significance of "Untrue"—not just the significance of the time period in which it was produced, but also the fact that it provided a foundation for the later surge that dubstep saw, and inspired future waves of house, garage, and 2-step—but the LP would have gotten nowhere if it wasn't for Burial's phenomenal production. My only criticism is that of time—whilst the album has, for the most part, aged very well, the minimal take on the atmospheres may not fare that well in a modern ecosystem that thrives on sonic complexity. But who am I kidding? "Untrue" has gone down as one of the greatest albums in electronic music, and I have no doubt that Burial thoroughly deserves it.