True

The next record on my list to review is also an electronic record: Untrue by Burial. Again, I don’t consider myself knowledgeable at all regarding electronic music other than a curiosity, all of which I owe to my brother. My brother is the musician of the family, having played many different instruments in his time, including continued time as a turntablist. He introduced me to the wonderful sounds of …Endtroducing by the awesome DJ Shadow. That record blew my mind in how beautiful it sounded.

…Endtroducing segued to Logical Progressions by LTJ Bukem, another fascinating series. The list of records and songs goes on and on. However, there are many, many, many artists and records out there, as there are different subgenres within electronic music. Until recently, the artist behind the band Burial had remained anonymous. William Bevan in 2008 finally announced that he was the brains behind Burial. He chose to remain anonymous for so long because he wanted to focus on his craft and his goal of bringing drum n’ bass back to the forefront of electronic music.

#25 – Burial, Untrue (Metascore = 90)

Untrue contains many different samples. Unlike Cosmogramma before, there are more lyrical parts to this album. “Archangel” contains a sample from R&B artist Ray J’s “One Wish” backed by a haunting sample from the video game Metal Gear Solid 2. The beat is characteristic of many drum n’ bass records, with the hi-hat hits and snare and low end. “Ghost Hardware” contains a sample from Christina Aguilera’s song “Beautiful”, mixed with more from Metal Gear Solid. Throughout this record there are snippets from movies, television shows, video games, and music.

The overall ambience of this record reminds me somewhat of a few songs off of Journey Inwards, another record by LTJ Bukem that I am fascinated by. The songs are somewhat depressing at times, but then at others there are elements of pop that give the music a bit of positivity that gives the record levity. The samples come in and go out as effortlessly as the wind. This album is not a heavy-hitting house record; the style is more subdued, more focused on combining certain lyrics to certain sounds to create an easier flowing record.

How does this record rate to Cosmogramma? Both are ambient. Both contain many samples. To be honest, you have to treat them differently. Untrue is a different genre of electronic music, leaning heavily on its influences of drum n’ bass and dub, whereas Cosmogramma is more experimental. Both are well styled, with an edge to Untrue. Both are fascinating records to me, and I can only imagine how many records these guys needed to hear in order to synthesize their songs. Whereas Cosmogramma incorporates more live instruments, Untrue is all samples. Both are earthy in their approach.